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Jan.23,2005 -Jan.30,2005 |
Bringing the Conservatives back
Federal party leader Stephen Harper expresses concern about country's future
By Angelo Persichilli
Originally Published: 2005-01-16
Confident about the future of his party, concerned about the future of this country. In an interview to Tandem, Stephen Harper, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, talks about the difficult work he is engaged in order to bring the Conservatives back together, the relationship with the government and immigration.
Mr. Harper, 2005 will be a very important year for your party. How are you going to face it?
"The first thing is going to be the convention. This is going to be the largest gathering of Conservatives since the late 1980s. You will see an opposition party that is bigger, unified, more regionally balanced, more diversified then ever before. Beyond that it is difficult for me to say. Even as a large, official opposition party, the schedule for the year is still in the hands of the government in terms of what they decide to do and what will happen in the Parliament as a consequence."
Do you expect an early election?
"I do not anticipate an election for this year; I do not sense any public mood for one. But it all depends on what the government does. If a government wants to provoke an election it can. I don't see any evidence of it at the moment. It looks to me that they want to stay out of the troubles in the House by doing nothing. You can't be defeated in the House if you can't make a decision in the first place. Beyond that, a lot of what we will be doing is a lot of planning and execution of plans for a long term development. Obviously getting this party more deeply rooted in Quebec and in cultural communities is a major priority. That lack of competitiveness in some of those areas continues to be a serious handicap. We will continue to work on all kinds of personnel and organizational issues to be ready for the next elections and, eventually, for the government."
What about your policies?
"Of course we will have policy announcements as the year goes on, but I will not give any of those away in advance."
Which is the most important issue you anticipate we will be facing?
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