Thomas Mulcair and the NDP take a hit in the polls thanks to resurgent Tories

Stephen Harper is riding high and Thomas Mulcair is sliding.

According to a new survey by Nanos Research, the prime minister's approval rating took a significant jump over the summer break.

In a measure of Canadians' beliefs about his trustworthiness, competence and vision for Canada, Harper finished with a score of 93.4 compared to the 72.7 mark he achieved in a similar survey in July.

NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, on the other hand scored a 48.0; interestingly Jack Layton scored in the 90s when he was leader. Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae finished with 38 points.

While the Nanos poll suggests support for the three political parties remains static, another poll, released Sunday, claims that NDP support is dropping.

The Canadian Press/Harris-Decima survey, which was conducted Aug. 30-Sept. 10, put Conservative support at 34 per cent, the NDP at 27, the Liberals at 24 and the Greens at seven.

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Mulcair brushed off that poll in an interview with Global News' The West Block.

"During the summer the government has a lot more tools than the opposition than the opposition, a bit more visibility. We've been doing low-key things," Mulcair told Global's Tom Clark.

"We have as many tools as the government during a parliamentary session but we have to concede a certain advantage to them during the Summer."

That however doesn't explain the Liberals' relatively solid showing.

Perhaps the 'Mulcair honeymoon' — which started with his election as NDP leader in March — is over?

Whether it was by design or not, Mulcair was 'low-key' for much of the summer. And, when he was in the spotlight, he wasn't looking like a prime minister in waiting.

In May, the NDP leader made national headlines for his assertion that Canada was experiencing 'dutch disease.' Mulcair told anyone who would listen that the resource sector is driving up the value of the dollar and hurting exports. Unfortunately, for Mulcair, his economic theory was rebuked over the summer by the very well respected Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

You also have to wonder if the NDP slide has anything to do with the fact that Mulcair appeared aloof both during and after the Quebec election campaign despite having a Quebec caucus of 58 MPs.

The Tories can take some credit for Mulcair's slip in the polls as well.

Last Spring, the Conservative party launched mulcairsndp.ca, in an attempt to paint members of the NDP's shadow cabinet as extreme and radical. And, in June they released their first attack ad targeting the NDP leader.

Their latest strategy seems to be a series of suggestions that a NDP government would introduce a national carbon tax.

According to CBC News, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan picked up the attack at a press conference, Monday morning.

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"In the last election, Thomas Mulcair campaigned on a platform that had right in it, in black and white, a $21 billion tax hike from carbon," Van Loan said.

Whatever the reasons for the lackluster showing, it appears that the Mulcair honeymoon is over.

And, only in politics, when the honeymoon ends, the real fun begins.