Opinion: You want votes? Get off the script
- Doug Firby | August 14, 2015
The party that wins this election will be the one that finds a way to connect with Canadians in an authentic way
An
election campaign is a contest, not for the party faithful, but for the
undecided voters who could tilt toward any of the major choices under
the right circumstances.
But,
just as the outdated consumer loyalty to a certain automotive has gone
out the window, so too has party loyalty. Votes are no longer passed
from father to son the way they once were.
The
size of the swing vote can vary - the less the voters connect with the
parties and their platforms, the more likely they are to sit on the
fence, awaiting something that will win them over. That is the case for
one in 10 of the completely undecided voters so far, according to an
Ipsos poll conducted for Global News and released this week.
Although
it is much too soon to draw conclusions in this exceptionally long
campaign, it is a troubling sign for all three of the major parties. In
spite of a lively leaders' debate last week, no leader has been able to
set a fire in the bellies of the supporters they need to win if they
hope to form government. Think of it as a failure to launch.
It
is also a good reason why no government will ever put "None of the
above" as a ballot option. Too many voters would feel compelled to tick
that box.
The
voter ambivalence has to be particularly troubling, however, for the
incumbent Conservatives. Not being in a clear lead in the early going
effectively puts the party behind the challengers, because it means some
of the voters who gave them a mandate last time around aren't so sure
they'll do the same again.
The
Ipsos poll confirms that: It found that only four in 10 decided voters
are 'absolutely certain' of their vote choice. Of those, roughly
one-quarter name the Liberals as their second choice and roughly the
same number the NDP. Less than one voter in 10 says the Tories would be
their second choice.
That
ambivalence was apparent when I reached out to friends this week in
social media. My friends range from true blue conservatives to those
firmly on left. Regardless of stripe, their comments reflected what the
polling tells us.
"I'm
a card-carrying PC member, and have been completely turned off by the
rhetoric from the PCs of late," wrote one. ". . . All scare tactics. All
fear-mongering. I feel like the party has lost touch with what it
actually means to be a conservative."
"Quite honestly it's a saw-off between voting with my heart and voting
with my head, between my conscience and my pocketbook," wrote another.
"But I can say, I won't vote Liberal."
"I am hovering in the none-of-the-above category for now," wrote another.
This
makes for an exciting ground war. The promises made; the scandals
exposed; the fumbles and foibles of each of the parties will be
dissected in and out, the way a psychic reads the tea leaves.
After Labour Day, that is, when voters start watching the campaign in earnest.
Which
brings a key point to mind. It feels like the party that ultimately
wins this election will be the one that finds a way to connect with
Canadians in an authentic way. That will require the leaders to get off
the contrived and heavily scripted messages, to listen carefully to what
they hear on the hustings and to actually answer the questions that are
put to them, rather than reciting a carefully rehearsed script.
Part
of the sea change in Canada's political landscape is the growing
rebellion against the obvious and cynical manipulation of facts. The
Conservatives have been attacked for this, but neither of the two major
challengers are innocent either.
If we can truly get to honest conversations, then there might be hope yet for democracy in this country.
Doug Firby is Editor-in-Chief of Troy Media and National Affairs columnist. This article appears courtesy of Troy Media.