Liberal Revival and NDP Moving Up

[bigdude]

Liberal revival

But the key poll finding eluded Harper completely. An Ekos poll asked Canadians which leader would be best for the interests of Canada as a whole. Harper got a 28 per cent vote, Jack Layton got 15 per cent, Paul Martin got a whopping 36 per cent. Even those who are going to vote for Harper find him cold and lacking in charisma.

Then there’s Harper’s reliance on the Bloc Québécois to help him topple the Liberals. The Ekos poll found 50 per cent of Canadians “can’t see” Harper being elected prime minister, “… nor are Harper’s chances improved when people see him as an ally of the Bloc. While Harper may see an NDP-[Liberal] alliance as unholy, his reliance on the Bloc Québécois to dislodge the Liberals may well constitute the Conservatives’ most glaring exposed flank.“

Says Frank Graves of Ekos: ”Paul Martin and Jack Layton are regarded as a far less frightening political couple; rather it is Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe who are seen as disturbing and beyond odd bed fellows.”

As for the NDP they really like the Ekos poll. Says Graves: “Not since the salad days of the 1980s have the NDP been poised to exercise such influence on the Canadian political scene.” The NDP tops both the Liberals and the Tories as second choice with the voters.

Well so much for Harper's kick at the can with his separatist buddy Duceppe.