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Vaden Ph i Chi bE SAR A J . RN EARS HCA NE NER 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. February 1, 1983 EG SRR (AA SP I Lappe Boal Ah La A APR A ata A . 2 FAR Ory MLM FOE AN) SSL RT LATA ELE 5 FES LR) i FAL RRL HAE BES ROL ITINAS LET RRR DASA LUMI ARINASER SA REL 74 SCORN a A AA Ae ~ ARE PVR . dO 0) J FA REL AR I SRST LL I BOF Sa FO LR paler Che TY 2 ea I pm nb Ni A ) & editorial comments 7 \ Tory Fowl '83 chatterbox by John B. McClelland THE POLITICAL GAME I don't know about you, but I felt more than just a touch of sadness when Joe Clark took to the podium late Friday night knowing that fully two-thirds of his Party members had just voted non-confidence in his leadership. It was a moment filled with drama, especially since the two major television networks had just spent the previous hour or so telling viewers coast to coast that Clark was going to get 75, even 80 per cent of the delegate support at the Winnipeg meeting. But it was not to be. The man who has taken so much criticism in the last six years as leader of the Na- tional Conservatives, could again only muster 66 per cent of the support of his party, the same support he received at a similar outing two years ago... ... . .. My heart truly did go out to that poor guy Frida night, and I'm not someone who has been inspired by Joe Clark's style or tactics over the years. I can ap- preciate what his staunch supporters must have been feeling as Clark told the crowd that 66 per cent is not enough of a mandate for a leader, that he would ask for a leadership convention in which he would be a candidate. More than one observer of that Winnipeg meeting has commented on the irony that Clark could very well win a leadership convention with less support than he received in Winnipeg. But just where that would leave the Conservatives is beyond my comprehension. For some reason, the Party has not been able to shed its image as a loser, an image which goes back to the 1960's when Dief was ousted, through the seventies when Stanfield could not beat Pierre Trudeau, to the Joe Clark era which saw the Conservatives form the Government, only to lose it less than a year later. As recently as two weeks ago, a poll showed that Clark could not beat any other Liberal except Pierre Trudeau, a man who by far and away is the most un- popular politician in this country. For the life of me I can't f out how Pierre Trudeau can quell the critics in his Party with no trou- ble while Mr. Clark gets stabbed badly and then has to parade on national television where all the country can see the daggers in his back and front. Politics is a rough business if you're a Conservative. It is ever rougher if your name is Joe Clark. Leaving aside the question of Mr. Clark as a na- tional leader, I am bothered by the fact that there ap- pear to be other serious under-currents of dis-unity run- ning through the Conservative Party at this time. We hear that the east doesn't like the west, that there is friction between the young and old in the Par- ty, and that there is a right and left wing split on ideology. Just how true these stories of splits are is ough to gauge from the Susie bit he font the stories keep surfacing is enough to keep public guessing about who the Tories are, where they are going and what they see for this country. . In the past decade or so, the Liberals have done a pretty good job of dividing this country at the Lakehead, but the Tories seem to be trying to do the same thing. If the east-west split is deep within the Tory ranks, imagine what might happen at a leadership convention down the road if Peter Lougheed, Joe Clark, Bill Davis, David Crombie, Brian Mulroney and John Crosbie were ..in the thick of the fight. There could be a lot of blood on the floor before that one's over. There is one thing that Canadians want in 1983 and that's an end to the Regional bickering that has gone on between the parts of the country in recent years. If the Conservatives want to change leaders, that's up to them. I hate to see them do it so publicly, but then politics is a cruel occupation. But if the Conservatives want to lead this country, they had better come away from a leadership convention with a unified front. It is generally agreed the Liberals are quietly preparing for the exit from the political stage of Pierre Trudeau and all eyes are on a man who quit politics several years ago for the cushy world of a Bay Street law office. John Turner is being touted for the Liberal job, but frankly, the Liberal fortunes would go up no matter who takes over. If the Tories can't get a handle on their in- ternal disputes, they could up second fiddle after the next election. Politics is a strange game. Those who are bitten by the bug never really get over it. The games played in this country seem to just go on and on with no ing and no end, and no clearly defined dimensions in between. The Conservative convention in Winnipeg did little to sharpen the focus. - GOOD LUCK It is hard to believe the Minor Hockey season in this area is starting to wind down with several teams gear- ing for playoff action down the long, tough grind to the -Ontario championships. Several teams have enjoyed success so far this year and we wish them all good luck in the playoffs, whether they are house league teams or those who compete against other communities. 2 Still Confused For Mr. and Mrs. Average Canadian living in Bran- don, Pembroke or Bridgewater, the strange goings on this past weekend in Winnipeg with the Conservative Party must be difficult to fathom. : The event was the national Conservative annual meeting; the topic was Joe Clark's leadership, and the result by Monday morning was confusion and more con- fusion. At least in the eyes of average Canadians with no more than a passing interest in politics. What happened on Friday night under the bright glare of the television lights was that some 2500 Con- servative delegates gave Mr. Clark just over 66 per cent support as leader. That ho-hum vote of confidence was enough for him to say "that's not enough' and he promptly called for a full-blown leadership race and convention to clear the air once and for all. The situation became less than clear by Monday morning as Mr. Clark was saying he would not step down as leader of the Party or as leader of the Official Opposi- tion in Parliament until somebody publicly announced an interest in the Party leadership. Certainly, it is an indication that Mr. Clark is not go- ing all the way down without a very good fight as he has thrown the leadership ball clearly in the courts of all those rumoured to be after his job. The front-running can- didates although they have yet to declare their intentions are Ontario Premier Bill Davis, Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, Iron Ore Corp. president Brian Mulroney, Tory MP John Crosbie, Toronto MP David Crombie and Edmonton businessman Peter Pocklington. Clearly, Mr. Clark wants one or all of the above to make the first move. But it is all very confusing and begs the question of "'who's in charge here, anyway." The Tory meeting in Winnipeg over the weekend was a test of Mr. Clark's leadership. By his own admis- sion, he failed that test, by the same figures that he fail- ed a similar test two years ago. : He called for a leadership convention and at the same time announced he would be a candidate. Now, he's talking about hanging on to that leadership, that he's tired of "fighting phantoms." Mr. Clark has every reason to be tired. His leader- ship has been an uphill struggle for the past six years. But the rest of the country is just as tired. The average Canadian is tired of Pierre Trudeau and the Liberals and getting very tired of the machinations of the Conservative . Party, which in the eyes of the public can't sort out its 'internal problems involving leadership. The Conservatives now have a leader who enjoys just two-thirds of the support of his Party. What kind of support does he have among the rest of the country? The stories out of Winnipeg indicate a lot of bitterness among the pro and anti-Clark groups. The call for a leadership convention was supposed to wipe the slate clean, clear the air, resolve the question once and for all in time for the next general election expected some time in the next 12 months. But as Canadians continue to struggle through this horrendous winter of record unemployment, they can hardly be blamed for feeling confused about who is go- ing to lead the Conservative Party and whether that Party stands united behind that leader. Mr. Clark has thrown the ball in the court of those 'who want his job. But on the national scene, the ball is clearly in the court of the Conservatives. They may have bobbled on the weekend, but have not yet fumbled it completely. The Canadian people are ready for a change in government. They don't want another messiah with vi- sions of a new society. They want a party with a leader with both feet on the ground, solid, confident and no nonsense. They want a leader who can re-install con: fidence in-the country; who can come up with some a down-to-earth action to get Canada moving again. They want a leader who has the overwhelming support of his (or her) own party. It's that simple. Watching the Conservatives commit hari-kari on a regular basis is great fun for the media and the political Junkies in this country, but Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Average are no doubt shaking their heads in dis-belief. What will happen if there is a full-blown Conservative "leadership convention in the next six months or s0? Will the Party come out of that as divided, bitter and frac- tious as it appears to be now? How can a Party ask the electorate for support when it appears to have so many rifts and splits among its own members? For all those dis-illusioned Canadians, the ones who are not die-hard supporters of any one political party, but who feel in their hearts that Canada needs a good shake- (Turn to page 6)