In politics, often times the battle of inches is brought up.
However, it may have been a battle of several hundred yards that lead to the recent federal cabinet shuffle, says Derek Robinson, founder and CEO of Mash Strategy.
According to pollsters such as Abacus Data and Leger Polling, the Liberal Party of Canada is 10 points behind the Conservative Party of Canada, which puts them at a spot they’ve never really been at. Robinson says this is likely the reasoning for the recent cabinet shuffle, as they were in need of a reset.
“Trudeau’s popularity and his negatives are not doing very well right now at all,” Robinson explains. “They are trying to do something to kickstart the government’s popularity. They are behind on a lot of issues, and I think they’re really worried.” (Story continues below interview)
As Trudeau’s popularity continues to drop, it has people questioning how long he can stay in the leadership position. Although Robinson says there are rumblings in caucus about how long they can withstand Trudeau, he thinks there is no changing leadership in the near future.
With two thirds of the cabinet shuffling on July 26th, it is sending the messaging of “Hey, we’ve got this great new team,” says Robinson, adding the need for change may have been due to some embarrassment from his ministers underperforming on issues such as housing affordability and crime.
“This is still definitely his party, and he’s running the show. He’s still the First Minister, he is the main person people vote in Canadian politics mostly for the leader and the party. But about 80 per cent of the time, it’s the leader of the party. So until that changes, we don’t know if Trudeau is going to survive or not.”
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