Bokhari is just not ready yet

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This article was published 07/03/2016 (3528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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There is a pretty steep learning curve that comes with any new job and based on discussions Monday with Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari, it’s clear she’s got a long way to go before she can be viewed as a strong alternative to the NDP on April 19.

Ms. Bokhari sat down with the editorial board Monday to outline her party’s ambitions with an election looming. Time and again, she could not or would not state clearly the main planks of her party’s platforms. Claiming she is not ideological, Ms. Bokhari then went on to describe her party’s values as being open to policies to the right and the left of the spectrum and making decisions on their adoption based on evidence-based research. In a rather confusing overview, she suggested that evidence-based facts are something she says people of her generation are embracing, rather than ideology.

While she may not be ideological, however she defines it, Ms. Bokhari is telegenic, enthusiastic and seemingly committed, but even she had to admit, her party is struggling in terms of support on the ground. Running an election requires a significant number of experienced personnel. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen by some as a bit of a lightweight in terms of formulating policy, but he could regularly rely on campaign workers with experience to finesse the details. Ms. Bokhari clearly does not have help, particularly not after news Monday that her chief of staff, Spencer Fernando, has quit. His girlfriend, Stephanie Danyluk, who was supposed to run in Fort Whyte has also quit. It’s more evidence the campaign is off the rails.

Ms. Bokhari suffers from an inability to be precise. When talking about her party’s campaign promises to date, she responded: “Coming up to an election is when we’ll be talking about child care, health care, we’ll be talking about an economic plan; how do we tackle the deficit… all that is coming.”

So our question is when? We’re as close to an election as you can get.

Granted, she may not want to play her policy hand early, but at the same time, providing some broad strokes would be helpful.

When asked about what she would do with the province’s growing deficit, again Ms. Bokhari could not get specific. She did say she would talk to the private sector to utilize its expertise in determining ways to cut costs. But what exactly does that mean? She wasn’t clear. As she stated: “I haven’t gotten detailed into it, but when we release our plan, I’ll definitely have that conversation.” In short, they may be able to cut costs on paper. Or, maybe not.

Polling numbers for the Liberals have been very strong. They were in second place behind the Tories overall and were riding high after the Liberal win federally. It’s fairly clear both the NDP and the Conservatives are aware this is now a three-way race. Part of this helped fuel enthusiasm at the federal/provincial AGM meeting over the weekend and Ms. Bokhari was able to rally the masses, while introducing her candidates. However, there were obviously some misgivings behind the scenes as demonstrated by Mr. Fernando and Ms. Danlyluk’s exits on the weekend.

As well, there were still stalwart party supporters who said privately they would not be supporting her this campaign, because to their mind, she’s just not ready.

So that brings up the big question. What happens to those who are looking to a strong alternative to the NDP in this election? Do they hold their nose and vote for Mr. Selinger? Do they put their money on a neophyte who is still not particularly skilled in policy enunciation? Do they vote Tory? Or do they stay home?

For Ms. Bokhari, the learning curve is only going to get steeper from this point onward. Time to up the game, if you don’t want to return to the political wilderness.