Gloomy poll on scandal raises election pressure on Canadian PM

By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper's election campaign took another hit on Friday when an
opinion poll showed most people do not believe he was unaware of
an ethics scandal involving several close confidants.
The ruling Conservatives, seeking to extend a decade-long
hold on power in the Oct. 19 election, are campaigning as a
string of awkward revelations arise from the fraud and bribery
trial of Senator Mike Duffy, once a close Harper ally.
Harper insists he had no idea his former chief of staff had
secretly paid Duffy C$90,000 ($68,700) in 2013 to cover dubious
expenses chalked up by Duffy, which are at the heart of the
scandal. Evidence at the trial suggests strongly that some of
Harper's top aides knew about the deal.
The Angus Reid poll said 59 percent of Canadians do not
believe Harper's version of events. Almost a quarter of the
respondents who identified themselves as leaning towards the
right-of-center Conservatives said Harper's account was untrue.
This could be significant in what looks to be a tight
election race. Recent opinion polls show the Conservatives
slightly behind the left-leaning New Democrats, who have never
governed federally.
Angus Reid said that for 61 percent of respondents, "the
Duffy trial points to a deeper scandal within the Prime
Minister's Office and they see it as an unfolding issue that
will be key to how this campaign is decided".
Harper voiced confidence in his current chief of staff, Ray
Novak, on Thursday despite court testimony that Novak knew about
the secret payment to Duffy. ID:nL1N10V2CV
The trial has heard evidence that senior Harper aides helped
concoct a fake story that Duffy had repaid his expenses himself,
and that they also directed the Senate, the upper chamber of
Parliament, on how to handle the affair.
The revelations are embarrassing for a party that came to
power in early 2006 promising to clean up federal politics.
The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's most influential
newspapers, said in an editorial on Friday that "today we are
ruled by an imperial prime minister, unaccountable to anyone or
anything".
The newspaper endorsed Harper in the 2011 election.
The Angus Reid online poll of 1,006 Canadians was carried
out Aug. 19 and 20. The margin of error is considered to be 3.1
percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
($1=$1.31 Canadian)