After a couple of debates which were grating, last night’s Munk debate on foreign policy had moments of being a great debate.
On a global stage where our military might is sagging, our environmental record fossilized and our foreign aid budget diminished, escaping without a scratch on his 10-year record has to mean Conservative leader Stephen Harper won.
But let us pause to give Liberal leader Justin Trudeau credit – he did not end up as foreign policy road kill and ably defended principled positions, even when they clashed with prevailing public opinion.
He did so well, Tom Mulcair looked like the debate’s loser, even though the NDP leader equipped himself nicely with solid and nasty clip-worthy shots at his rivals.
Of course, as a barely-watched debate compared to consortium-level ratings, it’s the re-running of clips not the full performances which could influence the vote.
So the verdict is in the hands of the pollsters. The debate champion will show up as a paint-by-numbers verdict in the days ahead. Over to you Nik Nanos.
