CONSERVATIVES’ LOCK ON LEAD RAISES QUESTIONS FOR OPPOSITION - May 27, 2010
OPPOSITION PARTIES FAIL TO CAPITALIZE ON ANTI-GOVERNMENT SENTIMENT
[Ottawa – May 27, 2010] - EKOS’ tracking poll this week shows the Conservatives enjoying an 8-point lead over the second-place Liberals, the continuation of a trend of several months that would likely lead to another Conservative minority government.
“The Liberals are not much of a threat to Stephen Harper’s grip on power at the moment,” said EKOS President Frank Graves, “even though a healthy plurality of Canadians believes the government is headed in the wrong direction. No doubt whatever discontent people feel with the government is mitigated somewhat by the widespread belief that the country, if not the government, is headed in the right way.”
Only Conservative supporters are happy with the direction of the government. Dissatisfaction is most intense among supporters of the Bloc Québécois, the Green party, and the NDP. Younger voters and Quebeckers are also particularly unhappy with Harper’s government.
“This pattern of unhappiness with the government combined with the unpopularity of the opposition Liberals, at least in relative historical terms, is what has produced the recent spate of speculation about coalition arrangements,” said Graves. “Of course, the example of what has just happened in the United Kingdom has also played a role.”
While the combined support of the New Democrats and Liberals would best the Conservatives at their current levels, previous research has suggested that the Liberals are prone to further bleeding to the Conservatives in such an arrangement. Add the Green party’s support and the three parties combined would command a majority of the electorate – though again, there is no certainty this would work. Indeed the united Conservative party has yet to achieve a level of support equal to the combined strength of its two predecessor parties – the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.
Click here for the full report: full_report_may_27
