In my real life, I spend a lot of time reading through national and regional newspapers and other media and I can report that the number of times Bernard Lord and Frank McKenna have been mentioned in the press has spiked significantly since the election started. Particularly Premier Lord who has been all over the place from CTV to just about every mainstream newspaper in Canada hammering the federal Liberals. In addition, there have been multiple stories on his quiet campaign to raise his national profile.
I am not sure if this is part of a deliberate media strategy but if it is it seems to be working.
The Daily Gleaner is reporting on a new poll of federal and political staffers as the star candidates they wished were running in the current election. Apparently, McKenna topped the list, with 10 per cent of MPs and political staffers saying they wished the former New Brunswick premier was in the election race. Premier Lord tied Gretzky for second with five per cent of those surveyed with Don Cherry tied for third with UN AIDS advocate Stephen Lewis.
Chisholm Pothier is quoted as saying “His government’s record of never before seen levels of social spending in health and education, combined with more people working, lower taxes, fewer people on welfare and balanced budgets makes him an attractive political figure. I can understand why there would be an interest.“
Now Chisholm is one of these political spin doctors we all hear about. My advice to Mr. Pothier is to hone up on the message because the national media will not be as kind as the provincial rags when you make blanket statements like that. When they find out that Lord has racked up a 36% increase in government spending on a stagnant population base – his reputation as a fiscal conservative will be in jeopardy.