MacKay’s remarks follow criticism of Scheer’s 2019 campaign.
Following his criticism of Andrew Scheer’s campaign – where he compared the failure to defeat Trudeau to missing an empty net on a breakaway – Peter MacKay has reiterated his support for Scheer, and says he isn’t organizing to run for the CPC leadership.
Here’s what MacKay had said previously:
“Yeah, to use a good Canadian analogy, it was like having a breakaway on an open net and missing the net,” said MacKay.
MacKay also discussed his view on the impacts of social issues (same-sex marriage and abortion) in the campaign:
“That was thrust on the agenda and [it] hung around Andrew Scheer’s neck like a stinking albatross, quite frankly. And he wasn’t able to deftly deal with those issues when the opportunities arose.”
MacKay’s comments had led to speculation that he – or his people – may be organizing behind the scenes to take over if Scheer falls.
However, MacKay pushed back on Twitter, reiterating that he supports Andrew Scheer, and that he is not organizing to run:
“I’ve repeatedly said I support @AndrewScheer + I worked v hard to help him in the campaign. Reports of me organizing r false. Recent comments r about our Party’s shortcomings & making the necessary improvements w modern policies + better coms so we can win the next election.”
I’ve repeatedly said I support @AndrewScheer + I worked v hard to help him in the campaign. Reports of me organizing r false. Recent comments r about our Party’s shortcomings & making the necessary improvements w modern policies + better coms so we can win the next election.
— Peter MacKay (@PeterMacKay) October 31, 2019
MacKay’s comments may not put an end to all speculation, but it should be said that the ability to criticize a political party – even and especially the party you belong to – is an important part of learning from failure, adapting, and then winning next time. Most likely however, MacKay will be sharing that criticism in a more internal manner, rather than going so public next time.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – Twitter
