Conservatives target NDP as Layton's party gains steam

I can't help wondering to what degree the Tory attack against the NDP is rooted in genuine concern over what the NDP might do to the Tories' electoral hopes, and to what degree the attack is designed to boost the impression that the NDP, rather than the Liberals, are (or should be) the true Opposition party.

The key sentence from this article, for me at least: "The Liberals, who have consistently tried to make this election an either-or struggle between them and Stephen Harper, now have an added obstacle on their path." By zeroing in on that obstacle, the Tories undermine the Liberals' campaign message, that the election essentially comes down to a choice between the Tories and the Liberals, right?

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/conservatives-target-ndp-as-laytons-party-gains-steam/article1995861/

OTTAWA— The Canadian Press
Published Friday, Apr. 22, 2011 3:02PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Apr. 22, 2011 3:39PM EDT

The orange surge has put the New Democrats squarely in Conservative crosshairs.

A new Tory attack ad goes after NDP Leader Jack Layton for signing on to a 2008 coalition deal with the Bloc Québécois.

The spot is similar in substance and tone to previous Tory attacks on Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. 

Black-and-white images of Layton and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe are set among shadows in the ad as a sneering narrator intones that the NDP chief is driven by blind ambition.

The ad comes as polls suggest the New Democrats are gaining momentum — particularly in Quebec — as the campaign enters its final full week.

Some polls put the NDP ahead of the Liberals and Bloc Québécois in Quebec, while others suggest the NDP has moved into a statistical tie with the Liberals nationally for second place.

On Friday, the NDP held a news conference in Ottawa, demanding that the new Tory ad be yanked because it is based, in their view, on false information.

The ad begins with the narrator suggesting that Mr. Layton's lust for power knows no bounds: “They say ambition can be blind. Just ask the NDP's Jack Layton.”

It ends with a stark warning to voters: “Jack Layton and his coalition with the Bloc Québécois: He did it before. He'll do it again. And Canada will pay the price.”

All federal parties appear worried that they might pay a political price if the NDP continues its rise in the polls.

New Democrats — often ignored by their rivals at election time — are suddenly being attacked vigorously from all sides.

Mr. Duceppe warned voters in his province not to be suckered in by Mr. Layton's smile.

The Bloc leader, usually a friendly ally of Layton's in Parliament, cranked up his attacks on the New Democrat as someone who is out of touch with Quebecers on many issues.

“I am inviting Quebecers to reflect, to discuss this, and look beyond the image. To not vote for a mirage but for a party, the Bloc Québécois, that is the mirror of Quebec society.”

The Liberals, who have consistently tried to make this election an either-or struggle between them and Stephen Harper, now have an added obstacle on their path.

One Conservative source says the party would stand to make gains as the result of an NDP rise.

He conceded that such an occurrence could also cost the Tories seats in some pockets of the country — like B.C., Saskatchewan, and parts of Ontario.


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