Prime Minister Stephen Harper Backs Controversial Incumbent Tory Facing Nomination Battle

OTTAWA – Prime Minister StephenHarper is injecting himself into contestswhere some of his incumbent MPs facenomination battles in advance of the2015 election.Harper has endorsed controversial longtimeMP Rob Anders, who is facing anomination battle in Alberta. Andersrecently had complaints filed against himby former Alberta ProgressiveConservative cabinet minister RonLiepert to Elections Canada and theCanadian Radio-television andTelecommunications Commission(CRTC) claiming that the MP’s teammade fraudulent phone calls to partymembers. Liepert said dozens ofConservative party members in theCalgary Signal Hill riding have complainedto him that they received phonecalls on Friday from people claiming tobe either from Liepert’s campaign or theConservative party, when, in fact, theywere not.The callers asked voters if they wereplanning to support Liepert in theupcoming nomination vote, expected tobe held sometime between April 10 andApril 15, he said. When people calledback that same number from which thephone calls originated, “in every case”officials at the Anders campaignanswered, Liepert said Monday.On Monday, the Calgary ConservativeMP posted comments on his nominationwebsite, and the party says they comefrom the prime minister.”Rob Anders has been a strong voice inour caucus and Conservative governmentas well as a valued member of ourteam,” says Harper. “The Road to 2015is one that needs strong, stable leadershipand I’ve been able to count on Robto get real results for his riding and ourcountry.”A party source, who didn’t want to beidentified, said Harper has providedendorsements to all incumbents facingchallenges. Anders is up against a toughopponent as Ron Liepert, a well-knownformer Alberta Progressive Conservativeminister, seeks the federal nomination inthe redrawn riding of Calgary SignalHill. Anders was first elected toParliament in 1997 as a Reform partymember in Calgary West and won fivesubsequent elections.He is known for his strong social conservativeviews and has gained notorietyfor his sometimes inflammatory statements.For example, he opposed granting honorarycitizenship to Nelson Mandela,branding the South African leader acommunist and a terrorist. Anders has atrack record that includes outlandishstatements and awkward behaviour, butHarper and the party continue to supporthim.He is known for opposing attempts todeclare Nelson Mandela an honoraryCanadian, dismissing the former SouthAfrican president as “a communist and aterrorist.”In 2012, Anders was booted from theHouse of Commons veterans affairscommittee after falling asleep during acommittee meeting. Anders was alsoridiculed for apparently falling asleepduring question period in the House ofCommons in 2011 in a video that wentviral on the Internet. He blamed the napon the side effects from a car accident.