HARPER: "The hardest part of the campaign was before it started""
(An interview with the leader of the
opposition)
by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
TORONTO—The hard part of the election campaign for Stephen Harper was out of the way before the race even started, the Conservative leader revealed in an interview with The Hill Times and Corriere Canadese in the dying days of the campaign.
“The biggest difficulty was before the campaign,” Mr. Harper said. “Putting the party together and getting ready to fight in an election in a disciplined way. That was really the big job. So far the party has really performed on the campaign trail the way I believed we were capable.”
Mr. Harper said the major campaign gaffes ended up being committed by the Liberals, which gave his party a clear advantage. They even messed up their attack ads, he said.
“I expected all along that the Liberal campaign would be highly personal, a campaign of fear and smear. I am surprised of how undisciplined and unfocused it has been, but not surprised at the things they said against me,” he said. “I believe that they went so far that I believe that people realized that they could not take their attacks seriously.” As for his own campaign, he said the only thing standing between him and his goal was complacency, as he urged Conservatives to remain focused on their “clear message.” “What I can say is that in this campaign I laid out, not a personality campaign, but I have laid out the things that we stand for and where we want to take the country,” he said. “And I do not believe that Mr. Martin and the Liberal Party have provided the public with any good reason why they should vote for them.”
Mr. Harper, what is the biggest difficulty that you are facing in the last days of this campaign? “When you are perceived to be in the lead, the difficulty is always complacency. People are always over-estimating their strength. The Liberal Party had a long string of electoral success and you can never count them out. I tell people not to read the polls. We are going to fight right to the end and won’t take anything for granted.”
How
do you explain the Quebec turnaround towards your party?
“There are many things but I
believe that our central message in Quebec is correct.”
And
the message is?
“Quebecers want a new
government, and, the only party that can provide that new government is
the Conservative Party. They finally are taking notes that the Liberal
Party is not what they want, the Bloc can’t deliver anything to them and
a growing number of Quebecers are going to vote for us.”
In
the last days of this campaign you are working hard in Ontario. What do
you expect from this province?
“I always said that we can make
significant gains in Ontario. We won a lot more seats compared to the last
election and I think we are going to get them this time. I have no doubts
that we are going to keep all the seats we have and we are going to get
more. And we will work to the last minute to have a genuinely strong
government.”
Is
this a vote on Jan. 23 a vote for Stephen Harper or a vote against the
Liberals?
“It’s always a combination. What I can say is that in this campaign I
laid out, not a personality campaign, but I have laid out the things that
we stand for and where we want to take the country. And I do not believe
that Mr. Martin and the Liberal Party have provided the public with any
good reason why they should vote for them.”
Are
you surprised by the personal attacks against you?
“No. I expected all along that
the Liberal campaign be highly personal, a campaign of fear and smear. I
am surprised of how undisciplined and unfocused it has been, but not
surprised at the things they said against me. I believe that they went so
far that I believe that people realized that they could not take their
attacks seriously.”
What
was the main difficulty you had to overcome during this campaign?
“The biggest difficulty was
before the campaign: Putting the party together and getting ready to fight
in an election in a disciplined way. That was really the big job. So far,
the party has really performed on the campaign trail the way I believed we
were capable.”
If you had the possibility of going back to the beginning of the campaign, what would you change? “I don’t second-guess myself. What I want to tell you is this: when we had the last elections afterwards we had a complete review of what we did, what we did right or wrong and then made the appropriate changes. And that’s what we will do when this election is over.”
