Satcan - Satire meets statistics

Stand by your man

Conservative party in-fightng was the big satirical story of the week, as 16% of coverage celebrated Brian Mulroney's triumphant return to the world of satire.

Stand by your man

Stephen Harper's highly-disciplined caucus has been showing some signs of coming unravelled of late, as a big spending budget and a dip in the national polls have led to murmers of discontent amongst the Tory faithful. But the strained loyalty was truly put to the test this week when Stephen Harper attempted to distance himself (and his party) from former Conservative PM Brian Mulroney and his ongoing legal troubles. The split was the number one satire story of the week, and lifted both Harper and Mulroney into the top-five most satirized figures in the media this week.

Bruce Mackinnon noted that the never-ending Shreiber affair was taking its toll on Tory morale, while for Tim Dolighon the mere mention of his name was enough to ruin a conservative party. But while Harper’s attempt to distance himself from the former PM is understandable, Graeme MacKay suggests the strategy may have actually backfired on Harper.

Harper had clearly gone too far when even the Liberals start feeling sorry for Mulroney. Both Tony Jenkins and Graeme MacKay took note of the fact that Michael Ignatieff took Mulroney’s side in the conflict, while Theo Moudakis found it a little disingenuous for Iggy to complain about the mistreatment of a former leader.

And while Iggy and the Liberals are undoubtedly emboldened by this Mulroney based in-fighting, the real risk comes from the precedent set within the party. After all, Harper can’t really expect disciplined loyalty from his party, even as he tears down the legacy of one of his own.