Overheard this week: A “vague waffler” who has “more in common with Harper”

This week, Justin Trudeau couldn’t decide from one day to the next if he was in favour of working with the NDP to oust Harper or not:

“Trudeau might be open to the idea of forming a coalition with the NDP” — CBC TV, Tuesday, April 14, 2015 “Justin Trudeau says he is ‘unequivocally opposed to a Liberal-NDP coalition” — Global TV, Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Some political watchers even suggested Trudeau might be more comfortable in a coalition with Stephen Harper:

“Trudeau has more in common with Harper than Mulcair … Under Mr. Trudeau’s leadership, the Liberals on most major files have become virtually indistinguishable from Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. On the question of taxes, for example, the Liberals would retain all the Conservative measures, save for a minor income-splitting tax cut. The NDP, on the other hand, would raise corporate taxes. On the environment, Mr. Trudeau appears content to allow the provinces to lead the fight against global warming, as does Mr. Harper. Mr. Mulcair is committed to compulsory national standards to reduce carbon emissions.” — John Ibbitson, Globe and Mail, April 15 2015

Meanwhile, Tom Mulcair’s strong leadership continued to win praise:

“Mulcair is the better debater. We have seen that in the Commons and outside. He is a master of the specific. He has an organized and well-focused mind. Trudeau is a vague waffler — he has a patter of stock phrases about values and being Canadian, which sell well in fan gatherings, but don’t impress in closer encounters.” — Rex Murphy, National Post, April 10 2015