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    • Don Martin on Pierre Poilievre's seven New Year's resolutions to top polls in 2023

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    Be it resolved that Pierre Poilievre needs help.

    When a majority of the respondents with an opinion, even in truest-bluest Alberta, , this while Poilievre鈥檚 still supposedly basking in his political honeymoon period, the alleged prime-minister-in-waiting clearly needs to embrace some New Year鈥檚 resolutions for a rise in public approval.

    It should be noted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had an even higher level of unpopularity in the same poll.

    So, while insiders bet Poilievre is more likely to double down on controversial positions and policies than moderate them for the mainstream, here are seven New Year's resolutions for a more popular political personality to woo the voters he needs to win.

    A COHERENT PUBLIC HEALTH, CARBON TAX POSITION

    With cases the new Omicron variant being identified inCanada, Poilievre should support voluntary masking and advocate for booster vaccinations without resurrecting the boogeyman that it鈥檚 all lurching toward government-enforced mandates.

    And Poilievre can鈥檛 simply champion the end of the carbon tax while green-lighting pipelines in every direction without a credible climate change counterbalance.

    So far, he鈥檚 just belching hot air. If his ultimate goal is to become prime minister, Poilievre needs to divide his 鈥渙fficial opposition鈥 role into less opposing and more positioning.

    BACKTRACK QUICKLY ON NON-STARTER CAMPAIGN PROMISES

    Yes, this means admitting he won鈥檛 actually fire the governor of the Bank of Canada.

    Because, after all, he can鈥檛 be dumped without oodles of justification which is, so far, missing. Poilievre might also reconsider his opposition to replacement drugs in safe injection sites as 鈥榳oke Liberal鈥 policy.

    Even former Conservative senator and police chief Vernon White is writing off Poilievre鈥檚 jabs as uneducated ramblings.

    CUT THE CONVOY CONNECTION

    When Emergencies Act inquiry Commissioner Paul Rouleau rolls out his report next month, Poilievre shouldn鈥檛 gloat if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is found to have over-reached in invoking the Act and he shouldn鈥檛 trash talk the conclusion if it鈥檚 determined to have been justified. Accept the report as a reasonable wrap-up to a dark national experience and move on.

    BE MORE OPEN WITH THE PRESS

    This appears self-serving, but Poilievre should resolve to be more open with the parliamentary press gallery.

    You don鈥檛 have to like or be chummy with the reporting mob, but accessibility is the hard part of being accountable. And even opposition leaders must be held microphone-accountable to be credible.

    LISTEN MORE, TALK LESS

    Poilievre should exercise his ears more and his tongue less.That means going beyond sycophantic MPs and bended-knee staffing for ideas and advice. Retired alumni like former interim leader Rona Ambrose, former deputy leader Lisa Raitt and true-blue but soft-hearted retired MP Larry Miller have the pulse of the regular-right and possess the political instincts to sell conservative policies to the mainstream. Listen and learn.

    BE LESS MEAN-SPIRITED

    Former leader Erin O鈥橳oole wrote a thoughtful essay attacking those profane anti-Trudeau flags as a nasty reflection of democracy-destroying polarization.

    Poilievre shrugged it off as understandable frustration with the government. O鈥橳oole was right. The last thing Canada needs is a leader whose mindset appears determined to widen the political divide. And ditch the 鈥楥anada is broken鈥 line. The country is fine. It鈥檚 the government you aim to blame for breaking things.

    SMILE MORE

    Finally, smiling a bit more often wouldn鈥檛 hurt. That vintage Stephen Harper scowl only won elections because voters sensed gravitas in a Conservative leader they didn鈥檛 particularly like, but trusted just enough to earn their ballot. That鈥檚 not a belief widely shared about the official opposition leader right now. A friendly Poilievre personality upgrade might help him claim a better poll position for the next election.

    That鈥檚 the bottom line鈥.

    IN DEPTH

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