PAUL’S FIRST YEAR
December 12th, 2004THE PM HASN’T IMPRESSED, BUT NEITHER HAVE THE OPPOSITION LEADERS
PAUL MARTIN has been prime minister for a year, and his second ministry, five months old, has sat in the House of Commons just 43 days.
Time for a general “take” on the PM, the other party leaders and the new MPs from last June’s election.
The new MPs have not been getting much media coverage but it is hard not to be cheered by their obvious eagerness, determination, and by-and-large preparedness, particularly in the Bloc Quebecois and Conservative caucuses.
But all four parties have some impressive recruits, including the governing Liberals: for example, in four new ministers never before in parliament — Irwin Cotler (Justice), David Emerson (Industry), Ken Dryden (Social Development) and Ujjal Dosangh (Health). Perhaps they are so appealing because the three truly pillar personalities from the previous Martin ministry, i.e., Anne McLellan (Deputy PM), Reg Alcock (Treasury Board), and Ralph Goodale (Finance), continue on, bumptious and hard-shell confident, respected but unalluring to those Liberals wanting a solid, straightforward leader.
Which leads me to the failure by the prime minister to improve either his self-marred reputation or the stock of his party.
It’s hard at this stage to envisage a majority Liberal victory in the next election. There seems almost no regard among the Liberal contingent on the Hill for the Martin team. His handlers’ strategy of reducing the PM’s showings in the House but flying the circuit of continents playing high-minded “goody two-shoes” is supposed to raise Martin’s stature at home; meantime, the senior federal bureaucracy is in confusion and many domestic and international issues demand attention.
In particular, the glaring weakness of the 21 Liberal MPs from Quebec, when contrasted with the numbers and confidence of the 54 BQ MPs, underlines the Martin weaknesses.
Most anglo journalists on the Hill give scant attention to how well organized and capable the Bloc as a parliamentary force seems to be, compared, say, to the Conservatives or the New Democrats. It seems clear that Gilles Duceppe, the Bloc leader, has become an important personality in Quebec politics.
Anyone reading beyond the daily cynical circus of the oral question period will notice how much more bounce and variety in ideas there has been from the MPs of the Opposition caucuses, a lot of it by freshman MPs. In particular, the new ones seem to be expectant for what so many Liberals and a lot of ordinary voters thought was Paul Martin’s prime undertaking — i.e., snuffing out “the democratic deficit.”
REMARKABLE FAILURES
But one cannot close a fair review of Martin’s deficiencies and not take notice of what are also remarkable failures by Stephen Harper and Jack Layton to make sharper impressions as leaders.
Harper, the Conservative leader, does not come through effectively as a prime minister in-waiting. Rather, he’s a carping moralist, bent on outing Liberal ministers who should resign or be fired. On the one hand he’s obsessed with Liberal immorality and extravagance; on the other, he’s waiting for the Liberals to unveil their intentions before setting out, for example, the military establishment his party would institute.
As for the NDP, it includes two veterans of the House, Bill Blaikie and Ed Broadbent. They may not radiate the showbiz smarts of their leader, Layton; however, they do cast an aura of leadership without trying. Their presence and contributions in the House underline how much hyperbole and self-importance there is in what Layton insists the Canadian people believe.
Once again it looks like another Toronto municipal giant is to flop on the Hill — see the careers there of Phil Givens, David Crombie, Art Eggleton, Paul Cosgrove, John Nunziata, etc.
My summary: Five months since the voters chose this minority House, three of the four parties have inadequate leaders.
Source: BY DOUGLAS FISHER, TORONTO SUN
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