In a world where charisma seemingly dominates the political landscape, Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer stands out like a beacon of bland.

And that's probably not a good thing.

After all, as history tells us, when it comes to choosing leaders, voters tend to prefer charisma to blandness.

Now, before I go on with my thesis, let me first define "charisma", by saying it's a little bit like pornography; you know it when you see it.

For instance, when you look at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, you see charisma by the boatload: he's telegenic, he's endearing, and he personifies a bubbly, idealistic enthusiasm, the essence of which he manages to capture in a never-ending stream of adorable photo ops.

It's no wonder he makes the media swoon.

And when you look at NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, you see a youngish, good-looking, charming politician who is sitting on a vast (as of yet untapped) reservoir of potential charisma.

If Singh can ever get his act together, he could, I think, give even Trudeau a run for his money in the all-important magnetism department.

Meanwhile, south of the border, U.S. President Donald Trump, with his flag-waving, bombastic, tough-guy, bravado, is oozing with charisma, populist-style — an unabashed "alpha male" kind of charisma.

Then there's Scheer.

Scheer, of course, is a nice guy, but let's face it, he is to politics what a still life fruit bowl painting is to art; OK to look at, but not terribly exciting.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that not only is Scheer uncharismatic, he's actually anti-charismatic.

In other words, Scheer and his strategists have decided to promote his dullness as if it was some kind of political virtue, basically embracing as their unofficial motto: "A leader this boring must be good!"

Although in Scheer's defence, boringiness and Canadian conservative politics usually go together like, government subsidies and Bombardier.

As a matter of fact, to find a federal Canadian conservative leader who was even remotely charismatic, you'd probably have to go all the way back to the early 1980s, when Brian Mulroney, blessed as he was with Irish charm, was ruling the Progressive Conservative Party roost.

Later on, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day tried to pass himself off as an exciting conservative leader, but unfortunately his charisma tragically smothered to death in a tight-fitting wetsuit.

Of course, it should also be stressed that dull conservatives can win federal elections.

Stephen Harper's electoral success is proof of that.

Yet, dull conservatives usually only prevail when facing equally dull opponents.

For example, in 2006, Harper bested Paul Martin, whose charismatic sheen had worn away with age; in 2008 Harper beat Stephane Dion, a man who bored Canadians in both official languages; in 2011 he vanquished academic Michael Ignatieff, a man whose idea of a fun conversation was discussing the trade policies of the Byzantine Empire.

But when in 2015, Harper's aura of dull competence was pitted against Trudeau's Sunny Ways euphoria, it was the biggest mismatch since the last time the Washington Generals took on the Harlem Globetrotters.

And Trudeau is the guy Scheer will face in 2019.

Plus, let's not forget that Scheer now also faces a charismatic rival from within his own ranks.

I'm talking about Maxime Bernier, a rogue conservative who was recently kicked out of Scheer's "Shadow cabinet".

Some say Bernier was expelled for not being a "team player" others say it was because of Bernier's principled opposition to supply management.

Either way, Bernier is now a martyr, and in politics martyrs can be sexy and sexiness leads to charisma.

So essentially Scheer is now surrounded by charisma, to the left, to the right and to the south.

Will he stand out as a refreshing change, or will he simply pale by comparison?

The Conservatives are betting on the former, but my money is on the latter.