On fighting one's own troops

You'd think that at least once during the course of the Cons' pilgrimages to Brian Mulroney, the supposed godfather of the party would have mentioned that suppressing would-be Cons in Quebec isn't the best idea:

Frustrated party members established a new Quebec wing just before the party's first policy convention in March. But the national council and the office of Tory Leader Stephen Harper have so far refused to officially acknowledge or fund the regional organization, party members said yesterday...

Unlike other provinces, there is no provincial Conservative Party in Quebec to provide a skeleton organization for the national party. So "if we don't have a [federal] wing," said Mr. Gaudreault, "and if we don't have some representatives by region, it is most difficult to obtain the support of the electors. Nobody has a face to put on the party in their region."

Quebec delegates to the national policy convention in Montreal overwhelmingly approved creation of the wing, known as the Quebec Conservative Association, and elected an interim executive. But sources in the party say the leader's office, while attempting to put together an election team in Quebec, has consistently worked to stall efforts to ratify the organization.

The article goes on to speculate that if the Cons were somehow to win government without a single Quebec seat, the effect would be a provide a strong boost for the separatist cause. But even leaving aside the potential national-unity implications (and I'm not sure that I see the separation concern as quite that likely a result), the decision to suppress the Quebec wing seems utterly bizarre from a strategic standpoint.

I'll grant that there are probably some differences of opinion between Harper and the Alliance cabal and their Quebec counterparts. But that doesn't seem like a reason to actively prevent them from getting organized. Surely in order to even claim to run a big-tent party, Harper would want to make sure his party held a strong presence in Quebec...and the people who are eager to play a role in the party would be a good place to start.

The only explanation that comes to mind is a fear that if such a faction were to gain a meaningful amount of input, the effect would be to undercut Harper's own leadership. This would explain Harper's preference in emphasizing his hand-picked deputies over the elected Quebec body. But it would seem to be a stunning example of putting one's self over one's party - and would offer all the more reason for the rest of the party to ditch Harper if he can't pull out a win in 2006.