For Tim Hudak, the winning issue is also the right issue

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak is taking exactly the right tact by taking on the Liberal government’s out of control spending. The words “out of control spending” are thrown around a lot, but in this case it truly applies. According to a National Post article:

Overall, annual government spending has risen 68.5%, to $125.6-billion since the Liberals took office in 2003. The province's net debt, meanwhile, has increased 51% since that date. It now stands at $219.5-billion, or $16,612 for every man, woman and child.

Mr. Hudak says that he will cut back on this spending and that cuts would target corporate welfare, obscure government agencies, and overly generous public sector contracts. It is doubtful that enough could be done in these categories alone to fix the fiscal mess, but it is an excellent start.

Ontario’s disastrous fiscal situation is the provinces largest public policy problem. It is also the topic that the Liberal Party would like to discuss the least. It is most certainly a losing issue for the government and they seem to be unable to come up with an effective response.

The Minister of Infrastructure Bob Chiarelli seems to have been given the job of responding to Mr. Hudak’s pledge to cut taxes. This is what he has said:

“Virtually every political leader in Canada supported the idea of deficit spending except essentially one — and that was Tim Hudak,” he said.

This counter attack is so weak that it is actually a compliment. Basically what the Minister is saying is that Mr. Hudak has been consistent on this issue. Even when all others were saying something different he stood up for what he thought was right. I just don’t see how this is going to make him less appealing to Ontarians.

Mr. Chiarelli also said that the PC Party can’t attack the government on this issue because they don’t have a plan to tackle it. This is such a common tactic of governments everywhere that you may feel free to roll your eyes. Of course the opposition can’t produce a complete fiscal plan. Unlike the government, they don’t have thousands of civil servants to help them do it.

Besides the PC Party is actually in the middle of a policy process that will be completed well ahead of the election, so the people of Ontario will likely (hopefully) be given ample time to get a good idea of what a PC government would do. Even without this process completed Tim Hudak is already giving the people of the province an idea of what he thinks should be cut back on. The claim that Mr. Hudak can’t attack the government because he doesn’t have a plan of his own is thus pretty silly even if it wasn’t immaterial.

The province of Ontario needs a radical change in its fiscal structure, and Tim Hudak might just be able to become premier promising to make that change. It is rare that a winning issue is also the most important issue, but when it happens it can be a beautiful thing.