Success in politics requires a wide range of skills. Identifying and implementing policies supported by a broad enough cross-section of the public to win elections is vitally important.

Having the right people in key senior positions is also crucial to the success and longevity of any government.

Behind it all is a quality that, while more amorphous, is likely far more important: an aura of competence. It’s the trump card any government plays when it seeks re-election, as Stephen Harper and the Conservatives did successfully in 2011. It’s the message that those in power have been there and done that and have the status, experience and visibility to govern well.

It’s difficult, but not impossible, for an opposition party to acquire that aura of competence; without it, a party and its leader stand little chance of replacing any government. Stockwell Day and the Canadian Alliance demonstrated that in 2000.

Perceptions of competence flow from an ability to not just come up with the right policies but to implement them successfully. That shortcoming is fast becoming an issue for Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party.

This week’s events surrounding the suspension of two Liberal MPs over allegations of harassment is the latest example of a pattern that must have both the Conservatives and New Democrats smiling.

In recent months, Mr. Trudeau has made a series of controversial decisions: ejecting senators from the Liberal caucus; requiring that all candidates be pro-choice on abortion; imposing a boycott on all Sun Media reporters; opposing Canadian involvement in the campaign against Islamic State.

Whether Mr. Trudeau’s policy choices are correct is a legitimate issue for debate. But what seems lacking in all these cases is a strategy for what happens after the press release goes out.

In each case, there were common elements that suggested a lack of attention to implementation. These decisions seemed to have come as a surprise to many of those directly affected. The reasoning behind the decisions was not explained well at all to Canadians, let alone to party faithful. And there was no clear plan to reach out to party supporters and those in the general public who disagreed with the decisions.

All of these policy announcements by Mr. Trudeau left uncertainty in their wake and serious questions about next steps that he seems unwilling or unable to answer.

In the case of Canadian participation in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, it was Liberal foreign affairs critic Marc Garneau, not Mr. Trudeau, who led off the debate in the House of Commons for the caucus and was saddled with the task of trying to explain the party’s opposition. There was enough unhappiness in Liberal circles with how that played out to send the party into damage control — rolling out Jean Chretien to write an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail backing Mr. Trudeau’s opposition to involvement in the war effort.

Whether Mr. Trudeau’s policy choices are correct is a legitimate issue for debate. But what seems lacking in all these cases is a strategy for what happens after the press release goes out. The policies, when announced, are implemented poorly, with little attention paid to how they will play out. That has tended to put Mr. Trudeau on the defensive, struggling to respond effectively. It’s hardly the position the leader of the third party should be in if he’s serious about convincing Canadians he’s ready to govern.

In effect, Mr. Trudeau is supplying the Conservatives with what they’ve been scratching for in vain: concrete proof that the attack ads accusing him of being completely unready for the job were not exaggerating.

In the past, Conservative attack ads worked best when they contained a grain of truth. When those “just visiting” ads accused Michael Ignatieff of lacking a strong commitment to Canada and Canadian politics, they worked not because they created an impression of the Liberal leader in Canadians’ minds, but because they built on an impression that was already there.

So far, Conservative attack ads directed at Mr. Trudeau have failed to dislodge the Liberals from top spot in the polls. So far, the Conservatives haven’t found much to work with. Justin Trudeau would be wise to avoid doing their work for them.

Christopher Waddell is an associate professor and director of Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication in Ottawa. He also holds the school’s Carty Chair in Business and Financial Journalism. He is a veteran of the CBC and Globe and Mail newsrooms and now works with iPolitics as an associate editor.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.