The establishment press will let someone run as a “moderate conservative” until the actual election, then they’ll demonize the sh*t out of them.
That means any Conservative leader will end up having to fight back strong against the establishment media if they hope to win, and that also means they need the strong and resolute support of the Conservative base behind them.
Poilievre’s communication skills and tough approach showed that he could achieve that, and you can tell that many people worry that skill set has been lost with his departure from the race.