RPT-UPDATE 1-Struggling Canada Conservatives aim for campaign reboot

(Recasts with election problems of Conservatives; adds quotes
from strategist and party insiders, background; adds byline;
dateline previously OTTAWA )
By Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren
OTTAWA/COLLINGWOOD, Ontario Sept 10 (Reuters) - Canada's
Conservatives, reeling from a bad start to their reelection bid,
have turned to a high-powered Australian political strategist
known as "the Wizard of Oz" and pulled their campaign manager
off the road and back to the Ottawa war room to help steady a
listing ship, party insiders said.
A refresh of the campaign, aimed at clawing back lost ground
at the midway point of an 11-week campaign, include a new string
of attack ads brought forward to this weekend and sharper
messaging on the negative outcome the Conservatives say
Canadians would face if they vote for a different party on Oct.
19.
Hit with bad news including a lingering Senate corruption
scandal, an emotional refugee crisis and a recession, the
campaign playbook that won Prime Minister Stephen Harper three
consecutive mandates looks to be failing.
"We haven't had a couple of good weeks. It's been a mess. We
haven't managed to get our message out, what with the stories
about refugees and candidates in trouble," said a senior
Conservative familiar with the party's campaign strategy,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
Two Conservative candidates dropped out this week after they
were identified in embarrassing videos, including one who was
caught on camera urinating into a coffee mug.
The government also came under fire after it emerged that
the family of a Syrian toddler whose body washed up on a Turkish
beach had wanted to emigrate to Canada. Insiders said the
campaign misjudged the extent of emotional reaction in Canada to
the issue.
"You play better offense than you do defense, and I think
the prime minister has had to play more defense than he's
liked," said strategist Tim Powers, a former Conservative policy
director.
The Conservatives confidently kicked off an extended
election campaign on Aug. 2 with a plan to outspend their
left-of-center rivals - Justin Trudeau's Liberals and the New
Democratic Party led by Tom Mulcair - and convey a message of
stability, but have watched support drop to third place and
hopes for another majority government dissipate.
To help get that message back on track, the Conservatives
have hired Lynton Crosby, who helped engineer British Prime
Minister David Cameron's election win last May. Maclean's
magazine said the strategist would take over framing the
Conservatives' campaign message ahead of the Oct. 19 election.
Conservative spokesman Kory Teneycke declined to confirm details
but said Crosby had been with the campaign for a long time. He
did not indicate how long.
Crosby's nickname refers to his homeland and campaign
messaging skills. He also helped Boris Johnson become mayor of
London and last month helped engineer victory in Sri Lanka's
election.
"He's got a winning track record and has helped
Conservatives (elsewhere) get to first place despite the odds.
Why not have an extra hand? It shows no disrespect to the
current crew," said a second Canadian Conservative Party source.
The source declined to be identified, on grounds of not
having authority to speak to media.
Crosby guided Cameron to unexpected victory by focusing the
British Conservative Party's message on economic stability. His
strategy that "you can't fatten a pig on market day" meant
voters were bombarded with a message in the hope that relentless
repetition would help it "take."
Harper's oft-repeated message that Canada's Conservatives
are the best fiscal stewards has been undermined by an economy
that was in recession for the first half of 2015.
Meanwhile, Conservative campaign manager Jenni Byrne, who
held prominent roles in all of Harper's national election
victories, left Harper's side on the campaign trail this week to
return to the war room, where she will direct day-to-day
operations and try to ensure a smoother execution of plans.
"There are a couple of surprises that maybe haven't been
handled as smoothly as they could have been, but I don't think
it's cause to give up, and I don't think anybody has," a third
Conservative said.