Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Legitimate

One of the lingering concerns, for certain people, the events of last week tarnished Ignatieff's legitimacy as leader. I never really shared that view, despite a true grassroots component, I always thought a simple gushy Rae presser, a show of unity, would be enough to put the stamp of legitimacy on Ignatieff, in the minds of Canadians. A new Decima poll would appear to show Ignatieff has that legitimacy, Canadians approve:
Half of respondents to The Canadian Press/Harris-Decima survey said they reacted positively when the Liberal party last week chose Ignatieff to replace Stephane Dion at the helm.

Only 11 per cent reacted negatively while 36 per cent had a neutral opinion about the change.

Ignatieff's ascension garnered more positive than negative reviews in every region of the country, particularly Ontario and Quebec where a majority cheered the change.

Specifically, on the question of process, people are more positive than negative in Quebec and Ontario, some resistance in the Prairie provinces, but as the pollster admits, this is simply coming from voters that would NEVER vote Liberal anyways:
"The change in Liberal leadership was favourably received in virtually all quarters but Liberals in particular are most positive about Mr. Ignatieff's new role," said Harris-Decima's senior vice-president, Jeff Walker.

"While the numbers suggest some resistance to how Mr. Ignatieff was installed, much of this resistance is among Conservatives, with NDP, Green and Bloc voters being relatively content with the selection process."

I can see why Conservatives would disapprove, after all they've lost their pinata and are now faced with a highly credible alternative to Harper. We are not afraid :)

13 comments:

Gayle said...

Your link does not work.

Steve V said...

Oops :)

liberazzi said...

I think this is more than just a bounce, because Dion did not poll this high in the beginning. Plus, I think MI has a presence that Canadians seem to be warming up too.

Anonymous said...

it was an early Christmas present for Liberals...yay! I feel so much more relaxed about the situation, I haven't blogged in days.

Susan said...

But where is he? The prime minister foresees a depression, more jobs are disappearing, the infrastructure projects two years in the making are still not in place. McCallum and Brison are working but where is our leader of the opposition - on holiday? He'd better be somewhere besides Christmas parties before Christmas - in my opinion. Dion would have been.

Anonymous said...

Staying out of the limelight and having Harper and Flaherty showing how truly inept they are is not a bad strategy for Ignatieff. I think after New Year's he will be much more in the public eye.

Steve V said...

I'm feeling pretty relaxed too, not to mention confident :)


I don't think Ignatieff should disappear, but I'm sure his plate is full getting a staff together, not to mention policy and everything else. The Cons aren't trying to define him, not on the radar at the moment, so it might actually be better to let these guys sit on the hotseat for a couple weeks. Ignatieff has already made himself quite clear, not much can change until the Cons start reacting in a substantive way.

Anonymous said...

He's apparently been in Montreal getting to know and talking with Charest which is important - Dion didn't do this.

He's also putting together a cabinet.

He's talked to Harper, etc.

Other than that, he's not working fast enough and hard enoughfor some people it seems - perhaps he's avail at 3:00 a.m...sigh.

burlivespipe said...

While we all know that the CON-gruets are mincing this poll (and those of their own) for some negative spin, that their house is so shakey seems to limit the kind of negative messaging that they could do at this time. But they will.
I just wonder if that tendency for hitting low and a lot may be near its limit (with Canadians)... I think it was revealed after the last election how the CON framing actually drives people away from politics, not necessarily into their grubby arms.

Steve V said...

anon

I'm excited that he's spending time in Quebec straight away, it's a great sign that a real push is coming. Not sure if anyone has noticed, but right after Ignatieff took control, there were two separate Lib press releases speaking directly to how the government was affecting the eastern townships, the Quebec City region. I can tell you, in monitoring our releases, I can't recall ONE that addressed this region, it was as though a lost cause, why bother. It was a small signal, but I don't think it was by accident.

burl

The attacks will come, but it would be foolish to do it know. If these characters start hurling dirt at Ignatieff, it will just be more partisan crap, while the economy burns. It actually feeds a negative narrative for the Conservatives, preoccupied with silliness, when he need action. My gut tells me, not much on the smear front until we get the budget resolved.

Anonymous said...

Oh no, no more attacks; haven't you heard? The Christmas season has brought on a transformation on the scale of Scrooge or the Grinch:

Here's Flaherty, quoted in the Calgary Herald:

"This is one country after all and I think Canadians expect all of us not to be partisan, to make sure that we pull together and create this kind of significant stimulus in the economy"

God bless us, every one.

Möbius said...

I'm feeling pretty relaxed too, not to mention confident :)

That's just hubris.

Even I have more positive feelings that Iggy has taken the reins (or is it reign?) of the LPC. Mainly because I feared what a Dion-Layton-BQ coalition would do to this country.

Let's see his policies before I take him seriously.

Steve V said...

Whatever, I'll try to care.