Scheer and Pearson

If Rex Murphy is right, Andrew Scheer is doomed. That is, if he cannot change as a man and as a leader, he cannot win. But, even though I always agree with Rex on nearly everything, I disagree with the implicit premise of his recent analysis of Scheer - that he must change as a person in his ability to do politics and its black arts to survive. I believe that he can be rescued by ideas with only a slight change in his mien. My precedent for believing this is Mike Pearson.

In 1958, Pearson easily won the leadership of the Liberal Party after the St Laurent government was defeated in an upset by Diefenbaker's PC Party in 1957. Pearson then arrogantly and foolishly demanded that Dief call an election. The PM obliged and went on to destroy Pearson's Liberals in a massive landslide. Pearson was widely seen as a poor campaigner especially compared to that arch wizard of campaigns, John George Diefenbaker of the cobalt eyed Vision of the North. 

Many no doubt called for his instant ouster, but Pearson stuck it out. The first thing he did was to call a policy "Thinkers" conference at Queens University in Kingston in 1960. There with some of the most sparkling best and the brightest wonks of all time like Tom Kent and Mitchell Sharp, Pearson rebuilt not the machinery of the Liberal Party (although that would come) but its ideas. There was born the strong Canadian national and social agenda that became the backbone of the landmark policies Mike successfully introduced as PM - CPP, the Canada Health Act, the Auto Pact, biculturalism, the new flag, Armed Forces unification and many others that dominated national political debate in the next three decades.

There was still a long road to walk. Pearson lost another election in 1962 and only won two more minority governments before retiring in 1968. But, he overcame his natural personal awkwardness with election campaigning and debate in the Commons and his "wimpy" persona to deliver results in barely 5 years of minority government such as no one had seen before nor will likely see again. He even managed to attract a bevy of star candidates who were to fill the front bench of Liberal governments for over 30 years - Hellyer, Martin, Sharp, Trudeau, Marchand, Pelletier, Chretien, Turner, Lamarsh and many others.

But the real thing that attracted voters, star ministers and bipartisan support in the House to his side was ideas - bold, fresh, compelling and popular ideas. Scheer is if anything better off than Pearson was a this point. Like Pearson, he has an impressive background. Pearson won a Nobel Prize for Peace while Scheer was Speaker of the House. But, unlike Pearson, he has a larger caucus in the House, actually won the popular vote last time and does not face a PM with anything like the magnetic power of a Dief. 

If Scheer makes a clarion call to thinkers from all walks of life on our side and the Members of the Party to hold a similar deepthink conference (and by the way why not in Kingston again?), he will attract the team he needs to win victory in the next election (and still be one up on Pearson). This conference can be the foundation upon which his comeback is built. The last thing he or the Party should do is hope that by some makeover or some further inane retreat from conservative values it can win the People's confidence. Success starts with good ideas which will make Scheer not just a successful Leader but a successful Prime Minister. It might even result in a more successful Canada.