Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says Jean Charest’s “strident” attacks on Pierre Poilievre are a sign that the former Quebec premier is struggling in his campaign for leader of the Conservatives..“To me, they are an indication of the fact his campaign is not getting the traction that he was hoping for,” Mulcair said..In an interview with CTV News on Thursday, the former leader of the NDP gave his thoughts on the state of the Conservative leadership race..Mulcair, who led the New Democrats from 2012 to 2015, said while Charest is an “incredible campaigner during a general election,” he has made a “big mistake” by attacking Poilievre..Mulcair was referring to an interview Charest did on CTV Morning Liveon April 8, where he accused Poilievre of encouraging lawlessness by supporting the Freedom Convoy protests..“You can’t be a leader of a party and the chief legislator of the country as prime minister, and support people breaking the laws. That disqualifies you,” Charest said..Mulcair said Charest’s “impassioned” speech was essentially a shot at the entire Conservative caucus, “because a lot of them certainly like Mr. Poilievre more than they do Mr. Charest.” Mulcair said it was also an attack on the Conservative party, since they make the rules on who can be a candidate for the leadership..“What he’s doing, essentially, is saying anybody who thinks Pierre Poilievre has his head screwed on right doesn’t deserve to be in the party,” Mulcair said, adding Charest needs to understand the leadership race is about “adding people, not subtracting.”.While Mulcair said Poilievre is acting provocatively and “trying to attract a certain fringe of the party,” he suspects the MP for Carleton, Ontario would “tone it down” if he were to win the Conservative leadership race..“I suspect his eventual campaign in a.federal general election would be much more mainstream than anything he’s letting on right now. But he’s bringing in tons of money. He’s bringing in lots of memberships,” Mulcair said..Mulcair said Charest, on the other hand, has not been bringing in nearly as many memberships. He also suggested that Charest’s “rather strident” attacks on Poilievre come from a place of desperation..While Mulcair said the leadership race is between Poilievre and Charest, he warned not to forget about Patrick Brown..“Patrick Brown is a machine when it comes to selling memberships. Nobody should be counting him out of the picture, because it’ll essentially determine whether Brown or Charest comes out ahead, and their votes flow to the other.”.Matthew Horwood is the Parliamentary Bureau Chief of the Western Standard.mhorwood@westernstandard.news.Twitter.com/@Matt_HorwoodWS
