An activist guru is guiding the agenda of Ontario’s Liberal government, just down the hall from Kathleen Wynne’s office. You won’t find the true identity of the premier’s cerebral soul mate anywhere in the government phone directory.

But it’s an open secret. Time to share the shadowy truth about Wynne’s (undercover) chief policy adviser.

Her real identity is Andrea Horwath.

You may have heard of her. For four years, as leader of Ontario’s New Democratic Party, she bided her time. A political sleeper agent, ready to be activated when the political conditions were auspicious and propitious.

When Wynne won the Liberal leadership last January, the NDP leader was ready with a policy agenda — because the premier’s staff wasn’t.

Oh, there is a pro-forma listing for Wynne’s official policy adviser, but it’s a placeholder for a loyal Liberal functionary who serves as a stand-in at sit-down meetings. He’s just a policy decoy.

The real brainstorming comes from Horwath, who keeps the premier focused on the economy, youth employment, energy conservation, welfare, and auto insurance. Consider the checklist of written proposals that Horwath has dropped into Wynne’s in-basket, transforming the NDP into a virtual lending library for the minority Liberal government:

Youth unemployment: On Wednesday, Wynne held forth at a photo-op to trumpet her new job-creation plan.

Source? Chief economic adviser Horwath, who made funding youth employment a condition of supporting the spring budget.

Retirement security: This week, the Liberals sent forth a trial balloon about an Ontario Pension Plan, hoping to kickstart stalled negotiations over reforming the Canada Pension Plan.

Source? Chief actuary Horwath, who first proposed an Ontario-only pension plan to supplement the CPP back in early 2010.

Nuclear power: Last week, Wynne’s government confirmed it won’t spend $15 billion to build new nuclear plants in an updated energy strategy.

Source? Chief anti-nuclear officer Horwath, who has pushed her anti-nuke policy for years.

Auto insurance: The premier is promising to lower car premiums by 15 per cent over the next two years.

Source? Chief policy broker Horwath, who made premium cuts a precondition for backing the last budget.

Accountability: The legislature has just enacted a new Financial Accountability Office modelled on the parliamentary budget officer in Ottawa.

Source: Chief financial steward Horwath, who called for it last May.

Welfare reform: In the last budget, the Liberals boosted welfare payments and eased the rules.

Source? Chief anti-poverty advocate Horwath, whose party demanded the changes.

It’s a long list, with a lot of boxes checked off, but you get the idea. The question is, who gets the credit?

Does the premier benefit most by borrowing Horwath’s intellectual property? Or does the NDP leader get political credit down the road for lending out her ideas? Put another way, at what point will Ontarians support the leader who is coming up with the progressive ideas, not merely purloining them?

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In the past, voters ranked Horwath highest in terms of personal popularity and trustworthiness, but were skeptical about an NDP leader’s qualifications to be premier. More recent public opinion polls tell a different tale, however, of Horwath’s transformation from a merely feisty opposition leader to a potential premier.

A Forum Research poll in late summer showed 24 per cent of voters believed Wynne would make the best premier, closely followed by 21 per cent who chose Horwath and 19 per cent for Tory Leader Tim Hudak — a statistical tie.

That’s a fascinating shift for Horwath: Beyond her winning personality, she may also be winning on policy.

As word of Horwath’s role as an undercover adviser gets out, keep an eye on that provincial phone directory. As voters cast their ballots in the next election, Horwath’s job listing may yet be updated.

Martin Regg Cohn’s provincial affairs column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn

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