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How the Tories will attack Justin Trudeau: Laughter is the best medicine

He once punched a senator in the face.

If the Conservative Party of Canada wants to run campaign-style attack ads against Liberal leadership candidate Justin Trudeau, that’s a pretty good place to start.

Because he did punch a Conservative senator in the face.

Forget the fact that it was during a charity boxing match, and forget that the target was now-shamed Patrick Brazeau, and you’ve got the makings of a hearty political attack advertisement.

The rich kid who punched a senator. Well, maybe I'll leave it to the professionals.

It was reported earlier this week that the Conservative Party of Canada is already prepared for the seemingly inevitable-rise of Trudeau to Liberal leadership. Attack ads are ready to launch.

The 41-year-old former teacher says he is ready to fight back against the Tories and, should he be named leader of the Liberal Party of Canada this weekend, he’ll get his chance.

[ Related: Liberal leadership voter turnout strong in early hours ]

So what is in store for the young Trudeau?

Political analyst Gerry Nicholls told Yahoo! Canada News that the Tories are sure to strike because “everyone expects them to,” but they will need a fresh approach when challenging Trudeau.

“For one thing, he has no policies for them to attack. He really has no history to go after him on. And he is as cute as a button,” Nicholls said. “Attacking Trudeau with a traditional nasty attack would be like trying to smash a teddy bear with a sledge hammer. It would have no effect, and it might do more harm than good. It could increase sympathy.”

The Conservative ads are expected to come after a leadership campaign that saw several opponents take shots at Trudeau. One political strategist who spoke with Yahoo! said those sound bites will play heavily in future attack ads.

“The ads will be designed to reinforce the conservative base,” said Marcel Wieder, president of the Aurora Strategy Group. “While it is an attack on Trudeau, the real people that they are talking to are their supporters and trying to reassure them to stay with Harper and not even look at the new Liberal leader.”

For example, candidate Martha Hall Findlay memorably attacked Trudeau’s position as a middle-class hero during a February debate. She was booed by Liberals in the room, but will her comments ring true to Conservatives?

What she said: "You keep referring to the middle class. You, yourself, have admitted that you don't belong to the middle class. I find it difficult to understand how you would understand the challenges of average Canadians."

What the Conservatives will remember: You don't belong to the middle class.

In March, former candidate Marc Garneau made hay about Trudeau’s careful image and lack of experience. "The leadership of the Liberal party is too important a position to be handed to an untested candidate who is hiding behind a carefully crafted public relations campaign,” he said, later throwing his support behind Trudeau.

What the Conservatives will remember: You are an untested candidate with a carefully crafted public relations campaign.

Of course, another way to target Trudeau is use his own words against him. He has made several unfortunate comments during his years in office, and those chestnuts are just waiting to be exploited.

[ Political Points: Advice to Harper: Dial down the arrogance ]

There were those payments Trudeau received for speaking engagements, many held by publicly funded groups, and some made while Trudeau was missing from the House of Commons.

There was also the time he had trouble clarifying his stance on the now-dead long-gun registry. He said he voted to keep it and would vote to keep it again. But, "The definition of a failed public policy is the fact that the long-gun registry is no more."

There was even the attack against Harper, which came out sounding like an advertisement for Quebec separatism. "If at a certain point, I believe that Canada was really the Canada of Stephen Harper ...maybe I would think about wanting to make Quebec a country."

Or the time he called Environment Minister Peter Kent a “piece of s$%#.”

“There are all kinds of things this guy has said that could be used against him, and things he will say in the future,” Nicholls told Yahoo! Canada News.

Nicholls went on to say that the best course of action for the Conservatives would be to make Trudeau into a joke. To turn his optimistic and charismatic leader into a court jester.

“If it was me, I would use what I call the “custard cream pie” attack. You would use Trudeau’s cuteness against him. It is kind of like political jujitsu. You take your opponent’s strength and use it as a weakness,” he said.

“I could see the Tories, or the NDP for that matter, crafting an attack where you employed laughter against Trudeau. You mock him. You say, ‘This guy isn’t serious. Look how young he looks. You couldn’t possibly consider this guy as a prime minister, especially in tough economic times.’ Nothing hurts a politician more than ridicule.”

You really think the Conservatives can't find a way to ridicule Trudeau? Just watch them.