Poilievre is offered a safe Tory seat

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whom many Tories seem to look on as the Second Coming (of something or other), was soundly beaten in his own riding of Carleton in last week's federal election, and by a Liberal political neophyte at that.

But so convinced are Conservatives in the man's value to the Party that they have prevailed on a long-time successful Tory MP to stand down and offer up his safe seat to Poilievre, who clearly cannot get himself elected any other way. 

It's an embarrassing climb-down for a party that has now lost to the Liberals in four consecutive elections. But Damien Kurek, who has easily won the Battle River-Crowfoot riding in Alberta since 2019, says he is more than happy to lend Poilievre his safe Tory seat. For he so loved his party that he gave his only begotten seat... If he'd had a sword handy, he would almost certainly have fallen on it.

"An unstoppable movement has grown under his leadership", quoth Kurek. "This is what's best for Canada, and is what's best for Battle River-Crowfoot". Well, except the movement just got stopped in its tracks in the last election, and Canada decided that the Liberals are best for it at the moment. How people get caught up in hype and propaganda!

This is a strange and embarrassing situation for Poilievre, although the man is not easily embarrassed. It's also a rather strange move for the Conservative Party, which lost the last election because (among other reasons) Poilievre is so unlikable, and because of his angry demeanour and tedious three-word slogans. Still, if that's what they want to do...

Poilievre is not humble man. "Sorry" or "regret" are not in his vocabulary. He has got to where he is today by being aggressive, acerbic and in-your-face; he does not do touchy-feely. It seems inconceivable to us outsiders that the Tories would even want to keep him as leader of the Party, especially given that his particular brand of divisive, populist politics has not yielded the results he promised, and he has brought the Conservatives no closer to power than Erin O'Toole and Andrew Scheer before him (arguably further away, given that the Liberals are now just a few seats short of a majority).

I wonder if this will play into the hands of the Liberals who are, as we speak, rumoured to be having talks with Conservative and NDP MPs with a view to getting a small handful of them to "cross the floor" to give the Liberals a majority in parliament.

And if Poilievre were to lose this by-election too? Well, wouldn't that be something?