Reality check from inside the blue tent

Meet the new chief

Brought to you by the Sports Fans Coalition

DOUG FORD’S POLLING PROBLEM

After a rough run of public polls showing DOUG FORD taking on water, PC pollster NICK KOUVALIS is out with numbers that tell the PCs: yes, the Premier is sliding, but no, the roof is not caving in. At least not yet.

His latest has the PCs at 39 per cent, the Liberals at 29, the NDP at 20, the Greens at 7 and alternative parties at 5. That’s rosier than Liaison and Abacus, which have painted a much bleaker picture for Ford Nation.

But even Kouvalis’s numbers show the PCs down five points in a month — enough to make the backroom crew sweat.

Kouvalis put it this way: “Sounds bad but it will motivate everyone to work harder and do better. And there’s nothing wrong with recognizing mistakes, working hard to make things right and having a bit of heat on your bum.”

Between the lines: It’s not full-on panic mode just yet, but time to straighten up.

Ford, of course, is a master of the political pivot and there’s plenty of run…