Pablo est dans une position inconfortable.

Je suis d'accord pour dire que lorsqu'on est ministre, il faut toujours maintenir la solidarité ministérielle. C'est clair. Mais ses détracteurs ont aussi des choses à dire : ils parlent de garderies, d'assurance dentaire, d'assurance-médicaments, d'immigration et d'intervention du gouvernement fédéral dans des domaines de compétence provinciale. Cette situation place Rodriguez dans une position délicate. Comment peut-il légitimement critiquer les positions de son ancien gouvernement ? Il faut même aller plus loin : pour être cohérent, Pablo doit défendre ces positions antérieures dans la course. Il n'y a pas d'autre choix. Cela ne manquera pas de ternir ses références professionnelles en tant que nationaliste québécois. Ce ne sont pas des jours glorieux. Et comme si ce n'était pas assez, il a la malchance d'avoir l'appui ferme d'un ancien ministre qui a donné sa parole à un candidat et qui a ensuite changé d'idée ! Espérons que ceux qui soutiennent la candidature de Rodriguez ne feront pas de même... 

Pablo is in an uncomfortable position.

I agree that when you're a minister, you must always maintain ministerial solidarity. That's clear. But his critics also have something to say: they're talking about child care, dental insurance, pharmacare, immigration and federal government intervention in areas of provincial jurisdiction. This situation puts Rodriguez in an awkward position. How can he legitimately criticize the positions of his former government? We have to go even further: to be consistent, Pablo must defend these previous positions in the race. There is no other choice. This will certainly tarnish his professional credentials as a Quebec nationalist. These are not glorious days. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he has the misfortune to have the firm support of a former minister who gave his word to a candidate and then changed his mind! Let's hope that those who support Rodriguez's candidacy don't do the same... 

Carney Gets In And His French Comes Off Like A Thud.

I don't get these people. It's not like they haven't had fucking YEARS to come up with half-decent French! But they were too damned lazy to work at it. They couldn't have cared less. Carney, Clark. How many others? Carney's French should be a total disqualifier. This is probably the only gift Freeland gets out of the gate. May she make the most of it. 

Pierre: That Guy You See Coming Up Fast In The Rear View Mirror Is Called Ford.

Again, Curious hit the nail on the head. No question, the so-called CaptainCanadaTM is already publicly auditioning for the CPC leadership. Even a blind person can see that. But Ford is nothing if not discreet when we're talking about his future political ambitions -- he makes his waves nicely and with understatement, not to take away or distract from some of Poilièvre's national glow. 

But Man, oh, man, we already know who the next leader is. His name is Doug and it's not a matter of if, but only a question of WHEN. The day Ford runs, I'll be among those backing him. 

Pierre Takes No Position And Feels Little Pain For The Time Being.

Let's start with a minor but important point: I sometimes agree with Curious and I think he is bang on here: there is no way in Hell that the next election will be about the carbon tax. Not a chance so Poilièvre might as well give it a rest. All Canadians are already sick of it anyway as Pierre would no doubt admit in private.

Now, let's tackle both sides of the Poilièvre coin: to begin, until Trump is in office and has enacted tariffs by passing them through Congress, Pierre doesn't have to take a position on that as regards future Canadian tariffs which would come into force in reprisal. Under present circumstances, Pierre doesn't have to choose between Ottawa and Alberta. That's not a choice that he willingly wants to make. That much is crystal clear. Of course, the other side of that coin is the downside: you know how that goes about true leadership taking a position early and coming on strong with a clearly articulated national position that all or most parties would be in favour of. At least on the margins, Poilièvre is already paying a political price for being silent. 

Now let's move this ahead to when American tariffs are actually in effect. As a future prime minister, Pierre will have no choice but to embrace the national consensus and sideline Smith and her positions on energy. If we go the cutoff route, nothing gets carved out or exempted:  we cut off oil and gas, electricity, hydropower and any other energy source we can come up with. Period. The pain must be felt on all fronts and in every applicable jurisdiction. So, Pierre has got to get it now, we're not talking about the NEP here. If he fails TheCanadaTestTM, his party's numbers will suddenly be in jeopardy. 

Pedant: Ready To Fight With Telford?

Pedant,

There are two obstacles to giving the DC job to Harper: first, Trudeau will give Telford the job before the curtain falls on his prime ministership. So...any incoming Poilièvre government will likely have to buy her off to liberate the position. Secondly, Poilièvre knows that to effectively go toe-to-toe with Trump, you must play his game and preferably beat him. That means you give the DC job to Harper BECAUSE of his public commentary, not despite it. And besides, what Harper said is basically milk toast in the end. Only an imbecile would be offended or pissed off by what Harper said. Oh yes, but then we are talking about Trump. LOL.   

Gould? Talk About An Unconventional Candidacy.

Now, this takes guts, especially from a Government House Leader who is not exactly loved by her other party counterparts.

What I'll be waiting for with bated breath will be to see who rounds out her team. Maybe she can win. Stranger things have happened.