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We need to talk about Kevin. I have tried not to during coverage of the Conservative leadership contest but am obliged to desist from the experiment.

O’Leary is “in” and is now very publicly committed to a race that runs a real risk of failure. His “trust me, I’m on TV” persona is not the product of grand slam business success.

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His career has been checkered, to say the least, ranging from his ignominious departure from Mattel, after the company bought his educational software firm TLC for $4 billion and later sold it for $27 million, to the performance of his mutual fund company.

But failure was never clear cut; his critics might accuse him of selling Mattel a lemon, yet his supporters could holler “caveat emptor” and point out he made $11 million from the deal.

But he is now in the full glare of the public spotlight. There will be no disavowing defeat this time.

We have to talk about him because his entrance transforms the race. As soon as he confirmed he was running, he became the prohibitive favourite. That’s because for the Conservative members who will elect the next leader, it’s all about who can beat Justin Trudeau in 2019.