Unpacking the Politics: A change in tone on Parliament Hill?

Prime-minister-designate Justin Trudeau has certainly talked the talk when it comes to a more open and accountable federal government, but will he be able to walk the walk once he is sworn in on Nov. 4?

The Ottawa Citizen‘s Mark Kennedy, who has been studying the Liberal leader closely over the past several months, told The West Block‘s Vassy Kapelos that he believes Trudeau will give it his best shot.

“I sat in his office about a year and a half ago and I said to him: ‘How are you going to campaign? How are you going to win the election?'” Kennedy recalled.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I sat in his office about a year and a half ago and I said to him: 'How are you going to campaign? How are you going to win the election?'" Kennedy recalled.

“He said he wouldn’t go negative, and at the time I said, well why? How? Because that’s usually how elections are won. He said the place had become so cynical, politics had become so cynical. It was time to break that. I believe that he believes it, and I think he’s going to try for it.”

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First and foremost, Kennedy said, that will mean providing substantive answers to questions put to his government in the House of Commons.

Trudeau has also floated the idea of a Prime Minister’s Question Period.

“We don’t have a lot of details about how often it would happen, but imagine this: Once a week, suppose, Justin Trudeau (takes) every question in Question Period for 45 solid minutes. That could be a real improvement potentially in the way that place operates.”

As for the Conservatives, they will now need to focus on finding a new leader as Stephen Harper prepares to step down from the top job. Several top MPs have expressed interest. According to Kennedy, the transition will be a major one given that the party, in its current form, has never had another leader.

“The party essentially was a reflection of Stephen Harper, his character, his way of doing politics, his ideology. They’re now starting from scratch,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The party essentially was a reflection of Stephen Harper, his character, his way of doing politics, his ideology. They're now starting from scratch," he said.

“I think they’re going to want to have a vibrant debate about who they are, what they stand for, whether they’re the party of the Progressive Conservatives of past generations, whether they’re the party of the Reform Party of 1993, or somewhere in the middle. That’s a necessary vibrant discussion to have. The question will be: will it become nasty?”