It is the calm after the summer storm in Premier Doug Ford’s government.

Seven weeks ago, Ford shook up his cabinet in a bid to reboot an administration that polls suggest is struggling — only to be immediately rocked by a cronyism scandal.

Dean French, the premier’s chief of staff, quit on June 21, a Friday night resignation that swamped news coverage of the massive switch of a dozen ministers just one day earlier.

While seven French-linked appointees have also stepped down or been forced out in the wake of the controversy, the departure appears to have triggered the reset the cabinet shuffle was meant to signal.

Yes, staffers have left or are leaving shortly — some because they’re seen as too close to the hard-charging ex-chief; others because they had long been fed up working for him.

However, Ford’s dismal poll numbers are fuelling anxiety within his Conservative caucus, suggesting the party has not put its problems behind it.

Overall, though, a sense of quiet professionalism has descended upon the premier’s office thanks largely to interim chief Jamie Wallace, a former Queen’s Park press gallery president and Postmedia executive who ran the Sun tabloid chain.

“It’s palpable,” confided one senior Progressive Conservative, like others speaking on background in order to discuss the scene in the premier’s office.

“Jamie’s been around Queen’s Park forever. He understands the place, he treats (the political staff) well, and he’s respectful to (the public servants),” said the Tory insider.

“He knows what he doesn’t know and isn’t afraid to ask someone who does,” said a retired cabinet minister, who has advised Wallace.

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“You’d be surprised how rare that is in any government,” said the former PC minister, who has worked with Tories and Liberals at Queen’s Park.

Another PC official said Wallace, who worked briefly in government when Ernie Eves was premier, is implementing processes and discipline that were sorely lacking in a freewheeling 14-month-old administration.

“He understands the need for a plan,” said the official, noting things were so chaotic and ad hoc in the government that it at times seemed as if “message planning” was being driven by what happened to be on CP24, the premier’s favourite cable news channel, at the time.

Now that the “French connections” scandal appears to be fading from the headlines, the premier insists “we’re moving forward as a government.”

“Our economy is on fire right now. It is absolutely booming and it all has to do with our great cabinet, the policies that we’ve put out there,” Ford said two weeks ago at his most recent media availability, held in Lucan, near London.

Privately, aides say he is bullish on his revamped executive council because newly appointed key ministers are tackling problem areas that have bedevilled the government.

Ford is especially pleased that Social Services Minister Todd Smith is revisiting the autism program by increasing funding and meeting with parents and stakeholders.

The hope is that Smith will be able to undo the damage done when the Tories bungled the revamp last winter, though with parents protesting Tuesday at PC MPPs’ constituency offices — including at Ford’s in Etobicoke North — challenges remain.

The premier is reportedly impressed by the performance of newly minted Education Minister Stephen Lecce, who has to implement the revised sex-education curriculum against the backdrop of potential labour strife with teachers’ unions.

Aides say he is also grateful for the stewardship of Finance Minister Rod Phillips, who must both devise a way to liberalize beer and wine sales without a hefty compensation payment for the Beer Store and, more importantly, reduce the budget deficit.

There is even talk of the premier doing a “mea culpa” speech next month to atone for his government’s missteps and then the possible prorogation of the legislature so the Tories, who have already fulfilled most of their 2018 election promises, could table a throne speech and formally usher in a renewed mandate.

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However, there are indications that Ford remains unrepentant.

At a private event in the Windsor area last week, the premier played down his poor polling, assuring local Tory activists that the blame for the results lay with “the Toronto Star” and its pollsters — even though every publicly available poll of the past few months has indicated the same trend.

Later, he called Lorne Brooker at Belleville’s CJBQ radio and insisted “people come up to me and the number one comment is: ‘keep going, ignore the media.’”

Still, there is concern in the premier’s office that if the federal Conservatives fail to topple Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in the Oct. 21 election, Tory Leader Andrew Scheer’s team will blame Ford and his provincial party for the setback.

If that narrative takes hold then internecine problems could mount for the premier still striving to assuage a caucus that had resented French’s mercurial behaviour toward elected officials.

“Look, if his polling stays the same we’re toast,” said one Greater Toronto Area Tory MPP, noting some voters at the doors this summer have not had kind words for Ford.

Another PC MPP agreed, stressing that it might be best for federal and provincial Conservatives if the premier lay low for the next few months.

“Why does he have to be on TV every day?” said the second MPP.

Asked if Ford would be the party leader in the 2022 election, a senior Conservative operative paused for several moments before replying: “I would say it’s 50-50. A lot depends on what happens to Scheer.”

With the provincial Tories set to have a policy convention in Niagara Falls next February, there is always the danger of what the veteran operative called “an uprising” among rank-and-file members.

“There’s no mechanism in place to get rid of the leader until after an election defeat,” the long-time party insider stressed, adding that doesn’t mean Ford is free and clear.

“Caucus can flex its muscles. Ask Patrick Brown,” he said, referring to the former PC leader who was defenestrated within hours of a scandalous news story breaking in January 2018.

An ex-Liberal MPP, who lost to a Conservative rookie in the last election, likened the Tories’ scenario with Ford to what happened to the Grits with former premier Kathleen Wynne.

“I hope they make the same mistake we did and stick with an unpopular leader too long,” said the former MPP.

So while the summer storm may have cleared, the fall and winter could bring some turbulence for the premier and his government.

Correction - August 7, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the date of the 2019 federal election.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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