New Cabinet
The moment many of us were waiting for came with a few more surprises than I think any of us had intended. There's a lot of talk in the news and on blogs about what happened. Here's my take.
I think that overall Prime Minister Harper chose a well-balanced and very talented group of people who will take a central role in leading this country. Look who he has on his team... Solberg, Ambrose, Cannon, McKay, Strahl, Hearn, etc. Many of them, I believe, will do a fine job.
I was jsut as surprised as anyone else at the appointment of David Emerson, a former Liberal. Naturally, this move has been very controversial and I'm torn between two reactions: the desire to laugh ot loud at theLibs (how do you like it, huh?) and an acceptance that this does look somewhat contradictory to what had been promised by the Conservatives.
There have been lots of reasons given as to why this might have happened. I tend to think that there's something more to the picture that I don't really understand. I don't believe for a second that Stephen Harper would be so stupid as to go ahead and do something that runs completely contrary to what he promised to do. The same can be said about Fortier and his new position.
My own gut feeling is that Harper and other top dogs recognized that there was a need for representation from these major urban centres (Vancouver and Montreal). Couple that with his desire to get right to work and you have what we saw yesterday. It's not an excuse and I don't think I'm buying into the alleged lies of the Tory camp as other bloggers might suggest. I think there is a strategy to this... I just don't know what it means yet.
I admit that it would be much better for both of these appointments to be put to the ballot. My only nagging thought on that is that two new elections will cost money and take time... time that I don't think the Tories want to take at this time. They want to get on with governing and I respect that. I also want the CPC and our new PM to put in place thoe measures of clean and meaningful government that he promised to deliver.
For now, I'm going to wait on this and see what happens. If the anger continues, obviously there is going to have to be some explaining to do. My own hope is that we'll soon see the wisdom of these decisions.
I think that overall Prime Minister Harper chose a well-balanced and very talented group of people who will take a central role in leading this country. Look who he has on his team... Solberg, Ambrose, Cannon, McKay, Strahl, Hearn, etc. Many of them, I believe, will do a fine job.
I was jsut as surprised as anyone else at the appointment of David Emerson, a former Liberal. Naturally, this move has been very controversial and I'm torn between two reactions: the desire to laugh ot loud at theLibs (how do you like it, huh?) and an acceptance that this does look somewhat contradictory to what had been promised by the Conservatives.
There have been lots of reasons given as to why this might have happened. I tend to think that there's something more to the picture that I don't really understand. I don't believe for a second that Stephen Harper would be so stupid as to go ahead and do something that runs completely contrary to what he promised to do. The same can be said about Fortier and his new position.
My own gut feeling is that Harper and other top dogs recognized that there was a need for representation from these major urban centres (Vancouver and Montreal). Couple that with his desire to get right to work and you have what we saw yesterday. It's not an excuse and I don't think I'm buying into the alleged lies of the Tory camp as other bloggers might suggest. I think there is a strategy to this... I just don't know what it means yet.
I admit that it would be much better for both of these appointments to be put to the ballot. My only nagging thought on that is that two new elections will cost money and take time... time that I don't think the Tories want to take at this time. They want to get on with governing and I respect that. I also want the CPC and our new PM to put in place thoe measures of clean and meaningful government that he promised to deliver.
For now, I'm going to wait on this and see what happens. If the anger continues, obviously there is going to have to be some explaining to do. My own hope is that we'll soon see the wisdom of these decisions.
posted by Jason at 8:36 a.m.
2 Comments:
Harper hubris, or Does Harper have a tin ear?
The conventional wisdom now seems to be that Stephen Harper is a political genius, of the same ilk as Napoleon, or Churchill, or – pick your favourite. But what if Harper’s cabinet-making is not a politically astute move by at all, but simply a sign that he has a political tin ear?
After all, sometimes the past is predicator of the future: in 2004 he misread the electorate with some of his comments about the Liberals – especially Martin – and his premature triumph speeches about the West taking over. And in Parliament he has sounded a bit screechy and overly self-righteous. Then there are those stories about him being a one-man-band, who does not need a mentor because, one observer says he said, he never met anyone as smart as he is ....
So, perhaps this was just Harper being Harper, and marching to his own discordant band?
If so, wait until the second Act: gonna be a lot of fun for Libs and NDP, and a lot of buyer’s remorse by many voters in Ontario ....
And meanwhile, the Bloc will crouch in the wings, nursing its wounds, and waiting for the right time to take Harper down – when he is under a cloud of intolerance or stupidity, but before he cements himself into Quebec as Mulroney Junior. Best get rid of him soon, before he becomes a real threat to the Bloc ...
So wait for the right moment, and the ganging up by the three parties who each have good reasons for taking him out of his new digs at Sussex, and who – between them – hold the balance of power.
After all, Harper arranged a mob-lynching of Martin with all three parties deciding to put in the knife on that particular Ides of May. Having shown the way, I wonder if Harper fears that this time the other three parties will cooperate to bring him down?
Better than even chance, I think; and probably before summer ends, too.....
Maybe Harper should let those renovations take place at Sussex Drive before he moves in: might save him having to move twice, eh?
I too have a great deal of respect for Chuck Strahl. I accepted the general wisdom that he would be a shoo-in for the new Speaker. Instead he has been awarded an extremely challenging portfolio. Having come from a predominantly agricultural area myself, I know plenty of individuals and families who have really struggled with this issue, especially in recent years. Chuck is a great man and rightfully commands a high level of respect.
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