Tussle on within Canadian Alliance

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

OTTAWA, JUNE 28. A leadership battle is currently on within the Canadian Alliance. The top two leaders of the Alliance, the former Alberta Treasurer, Mr. Stockwell Day and the leader of the Reform Party, Mr. Preston Manning are pressing hard for the support of the Ontario members for the crucial run-off election on July 8.

The Ontario conservative, Mr. Tom Long took a disappointing third place in the leadership tussle last Saturday. A scramble is now on for the 18 per cent of the votes he received that day. An aggressive campaign is on for these votes even as some predict that Mr. Manning will pull out in an effort to forge unity in the newly formed entity. But neither Mr. Day nor Mr. Manning seem to be slacking off for the July 8 showdown.

The Day Campaign is questioning Mr. Manning's ability to draw support on a national basis. And the leader of the former Reform Party is seeking to draw the distinction between experience and the lack thereof. Mr. Manning has been stressing his ability to bring together the various elements of the Alliance coalition.

One phenomenon that has been quite visible in the last few days is the attempt by the Progressive Conservatives to rein in disgruntled elements. In the view of Mr. Joe Clark and other critics, the emergence of Mr. Day signalled a step backward in the sense that it brings to the fore a small and narrow dimension of what the conservatives stand for. Mr. Clark said support based on a narrow platform was not only unwinnable electorally but would reflect wrong trends in the country. For instance, the Alliance under Mr. Day is perceived to be espousing social causes that are far to the right of the national mainstream.

Analysts say that the rise of Mr. Day within the Canadian Alliance cuts at least two ways for the Liberal Party of the Prime Minister, Mr. Jean Chretian. On the one hand, Mr. Day and his outfit can be dismissed as right-wing extremist fundamentalists who are out of touch with reality. But on the other hand, the danger to the Liberals and Mr. Chretien is that the Alliance and Mr. Day can pick up the same theme and pin it on Mr. Chretien. With 17 years separating them in age, Mr. Day could in fact argue that it was Mr. Chretien who was out of touch with ground realities. The generational gap would have to be factored in any electoral scene.

``It is not about generational change. It's a question of policies, a question of programmes, a question of philosophy,'' the Canadian Prime Minister remarked making the point that the rise of the Alliance is not a big threat to the Liberals. With elections not seen coming for at least another year - the full term of Parliament runs until June 2002 - Mr. Chretien cannot afford to be indifferent to the emergence of a charismatic leader on the national political scene.

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