When they were in power, Conservative cabinet ministers were the loudest cheerleaders for Stephen Harper’s nastiest and most controversial decisions and policies.

To listen to them even just a few days before the Oct. 19 election, you would think they truly believed Harper and the party could do no wrong.

Indeed, some ministers were the very people directly in charge of implementing the contentious mandates on everything from killing the long-form census to promoting a “snitch line” on “barbaric cultural practices” and rejecting calls for a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

They seemed to thrive on it, arrogant and defiant toward anyone who disagreed with them.

Suddenly, though, these same ministers today are back-pedalling as fast as they can from the very policies and practices that they championed during the Harper era.

Some of them are so pathetic in their efforts to distance themselves from disgraced Harper policies that they are verging on the excuse uttered by junior military officers of “just following orders.”

Where were these ministers over the last nine years? Were they that afraid of Harper, who ruled with an iron fist?

Or did they love the prestige and power of being a minister so much that they swallowed their pride, principles and courage and instead spouted lines promoting policies they disagreed with or hated?

And for sheer gall, some of these weaseling ex-ministers are lining up to run for Harper’s old job as Conservative leader.

Let’s start with Rona Ambrose, the new interim party leader. Without a hint of insincerity, Ambrose insists her caucus will no longer engage in the “nastiness” of the old Harper government and will be more “constructive, effective” in working as the Official Opposition.

Also, Ambrose has completely reversed herself on the need for a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women. For years, the Tories refused to hold an inquiry into what the RCMP says are more than 1,200 cases of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

Now she is all in favour of an inquiry, saying it “is an absolutely non-partisan issue, it should never be political.”

This is the same woman who, back in 2010 when she was minister for the status of women, defended a decision by the Harper government to cut off funding for a database operated by Sisters in Spirit, a group that had been tracking 582 cases of murdered or missing aboriginal women in Canada.

Next is Tony Clement, the former industry minister who cancelled the long-form census of 2011, a move widely denounced inside and outside of government. Clement was relentless in implementing the change, insisting it was needed to protect citizen privacy.

Now Clement is expressing regrets, saying in hindsight that “I would have done it differently.”

No kidding, Tony!

Then there’s Kellie Leitch, the former labour minister at the centre of one of the lowest points in the Tory campaign. She hit that point when she joined cabinet colleague Chris Alexander in announcing “a snitch hotline” to report “barbaric cultural practices.” In reality, Leitch was urging Canadians to target Muslims in their neighbourhoods.

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Now Leitch, who apparently dreams of succeeding Harper, says the plan was misunderstood and not communicated very well.

In addition, there’s Harper himself, now just a backbench MP.

As an opposition MP before he became prime minister, Harper often criticized the use of government-owned VIP Challenger jets by Liberal cabinet ministers.

But last week, ordinary MP Harper eagerly accepted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s generous offer to fly Harper back to Calgary on a Challenger jet. No word on whether Harper gave a second’s thought to the estimated $12,000-$15,000 cost to taxpayers for use of the plane.

Do these Conservatives take voters to be fools?

Do the ex-ministers think Canadians won’t see through their silly backtracking for what it really is — a blatant attempt to rewrite history by blaming Harper alone for disastrous policies that they themselves hailed?

Do they really believe voters will excuse them for failing to stand up to Harper if indeed they opposed his policies, or for trying to sell programs to Canadians that they didn’t believe in themselves?

If they do, then shame on all of them.

Bob Hepburn’s column appears Sunday. bhepburn@thestar.ca

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