John Ivison: Conservatives want their leader to change. He might not wish to
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A staple of Mark Carney's stump speech during the election was the line that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is the kind of politician who has never changed his mind since he was 17.
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'Who hasn't changed their mind since they were 17?' the Liberal leader would mock.
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The attack was validated by Poilievre's own words in his interview with Jordan Peterson in December, in which he said he has been 'saying precisely the same things' since he was a teenager.
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The Conservative leader's supporters portray that as relentlessness; his detractors say it illustrates his intransigence and obstinacy.
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Now, Poilievre's ability to adapt to changed circumstances will determine his political future, and perhaps whether he even has one.
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This week's Conservative caucus meeting gave the leader the benefit of the doubt. But it is fair to say that doubts continue to hang over him like a sword suspended by a single horsehair.
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The caucus reaffirmed its commitment to the Reform Act, which gives it the power to replace the party leader.
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One Conservative MP, who said he heard on the doorsteps that people didn't like the leader, said caucus has given Poilievre the chance to 'show a bit of humility' and admit that changes are needed.
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If changes happen, he will be allowed to stay on. 'But if he goes back to the old ways, where we have to ask to use the washrooms or are forced to use the slogans, then he'll have a problem,' the MP said. 'There is definitely an undercurrent of people being pissed off because we lost a 25-point lead and picked fights with other conservatives,' he added, referring to provincial premiers Tim Houston and Doug Ford.
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A common thread repeated by numerous MPs and veteran Conservatives is that Poilievre and his campaign manager, Jenni Byrne, are 'not nice people,' and are more inclined to scorching earth than building bridges.
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There is an active backlash against Byrne (a former girlfriend of Poilievre's) who made herself the hub to which all spokes were connected and is now being blamed for the campaign's strategic and organizational shortcomings.
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Poilievre has preferred to emphasize the additional 23 seats Conservatives won in the election, with the party's highest share of the vote since 1988. Both he and Byrne are said to stand by the decision to keep the media off the campaign plane. 'They believe the best team lost,' said one person familiar with internal discussions.
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