Paul Dewar picks up a coveted nod.
Paul Dewar picks up a coveted nod.
One senior Conservative said he is not concerned by Mr. Topp, calling him “wooden” and lacking in charisma. Nor is he worried by the prospect of Mr. Mulcair winning, calling him “very wedge-able.” But Mr. Dewar does make him nervous. “He’s young, bilingual, telegenic and has political geneology [his mother was mayor of Ottawa]. He has good parliamentary experience and people seem to like him. He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a young Bob Rae.”
There are three ways to read these comments.
1. The anonymous senior Conservative truly believes that Paul Dewar would make a formidable political leader and opponent.
2. The anonymous senior Conservative wants New Democrats to think that Conservatives think that Paul Dewar would make a formidable political leader and opponent precisely because Conservatives don’t actually think that and would, in fact, like to see him elected leader of the NDP.
3. The anonymous senior Conservative thinks that New Democrats will think that he is trying to fool them into electing Paul Dewar, so by endorsing Paul Dewar he is, in fact, hoping to avoid facing someone he truly believes to be a formidable political leader and opponent.