Well, with the campaigns shut down over the holidays weeks 4 and 5 were predictably dull and…what?…HOLY CRAP!
Weekly Winner: Judy Wasylycia Leis. She sent to the RCMP to investigate the Income Trusts and then broke the story this week when they told her they’d oblidge.
Weekly Loser: Paul Martin. I’ve tried to stay away from picking party leaders for weekly winners and losers, but it’s been a bad, bad week for Paul Martin. You’d have to have some strong stuff in the kool-aid to think anything else.
The Polls: There’s not a lot of recent polling data out there, but here’s the average of the most recent SES, Ipsos, Leger, and SC polls:
Lib: 34.5% (115)
CPC: 31% (107)
NDP: 15.75% (23)
BQ: 13.5% (62)
The Gamblers: Things are really tightening up in the UBC election stock market.
Lib: 32.6%
CPC: 32.5%
NDP: 16.1%
BQ: 13.1%
Blog of the Week: Was there any doubt? Mike Klander takes this one hands down.
Scott Feschuck Line of the Week:
“for months, I though LOL was some snappy new verb that Webster’s had sneaked into the language while I was away camping”
Nostradamus Award: It really does seem like the Liberal campaign has gone into a tailspin ever since the wheels came off Paul Martin’s sleigh ride.
Nostradamus Award 2: Jason Cherniak serves up the boldest campaign prediction to date:
“Far from being the death-knell of the Liberal campaign, I think this investigation could be the final leg of a majority.”
Liberal Weeks in Review: F
It’s hard to imagine a worse possible week for the natural governing party. Several blog gaffes and the Income Trust leak-riddle-thingie could mark the turning point of this campaign. Martin also looked bad before Christmas when Duceppe turned the tables on him with his offer to meet him on every corner in Quebec.
Conservative Weeks in Review: B+
Harper gets marks for campaigning through the holidays while the other leaders enjoy the eggnog. The policy keeps coming, including a tax break for transit users which I think a lot of people will like. The latest ad is likely smart but, truth be told, most of the Tory gains this week comes from Liberal losses.
NDP Weeks in Review: B+
Layton and Olivia may have been mercilessly smeared by Liberals this week, but that certainly bodes well for them as they try to convince fickle NDP voters to not vote Liberal on E-day. The new ad doesn’t do it for me but the NDP seems to be on the right track.
Bloc Quebecois Weeks in Review: B
Duceppe has been MIA over the holidays, but that’s likely a good strategy for him. He seemed to turn the tables on Paul post-debate with the debate offer and most concede he’ll likely be cruising to the finish line in Quebec.