Mis-Steps or Master Strokes?

Day one of the brave new world for the Conservatives and well the honeymoon phase is already over! Stephen Harper took the oath of office and became the nations 22nd Prime Minister, and the Conservatives trotted out their leaner, keener cabinet. And amongst the expected names of McKay, Day, Ambrose, Flaherty, Cannon, Solberg, and Clement, came two most unexpected additions to the 26 member inner circle. And those two surprises more than overshadowed any of the other 24 names added to the Privy Council list today.

Former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson arrived at Rideau hall to set tongues a wagging, as he crossed over from his old friend Paul Martin to take up with the Conservatives. Then, the other shoe dropped at a surprising swearing in ceremony, unelected campaign co chair, Michael Fortier was given the plum Public works ministry, routed through a back door of the Senate with a promise that he will run for office the next time an election comes up.

Two events that must have the Reformer wing of his party setting their hair on fire today. Suddenly their favourite son had traveled down a road last traversed by a guy named Mulroney, if nothing else Prime Minister Harper can probably say that this was the day that he officially proved that he was no longer a hostage to the Reform wing of the alliance of the right.

Harper went against what many perceived as Conservative Holy Grails in his bid to build a cabinet for today. The Fortier appointment seems to fly in the face of the recent Conservative denigration of such past Liberal exploits, and considering the long sought after desire to make the Senate an elected and effective institution, sneaking someone in through its doors seems to be a strange approach to reform.

And considering the howling of the day over the desertions of Keith Martin, Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, to now openly have courted a Liberal to do the same seems to be a tad disingenuous. Then again perhaps it’s just a simple matter of revenge being best when it’s served cold!

The moves seem to be designed to shore up his urban Canada vote, as he recruits and rewards high profile Canadians in the large markets of Montreal and Vancouver. It does however raise up that nasty little word “accountability”, last we checked Mr. Emerson had been elected as a Liberal; to change horses as soon as you get to the saloon seems a tad opportunistic or hypocritical. Since Emerson has never been described as an opportunist, we’ll have to go with the latter, but to be honest the jury seems out on both counts.

The only thing funnier than the Prime Minister and Emerson trying to explain this move as some kind of nation building exercise, was the excited response of Liberal Ujjal Dosanjh, who didn’t think too much of Mr. Emerson changing parties so soon after an election. Of course Mr. Dosanjh conveniently neglects his own bit of duplicity, having led an NDP government in British Columbia to a thumping in the polls, before he found salivation at the Liberal oasis. Perhaps the Liberals could have found someone else to express their outrage at the Emerson defection, hey maybe Belinda Stronach!

None the less, it is not democracy’s best moment when the decision of the electorate is so casually discarded in the goal of political expediency. There wasn’t a lot in the NDP platform of government reform that I found workable, but their call for those crossing the floor to sit as an independent and then immediately seek the approval of the populace in a by election, seems like something that we need to investigate and incorporate.

No doubt Emerson brings a wealth of knowledge to a Conservative cabinet a little light in the knowledge of the levers of power. However, his wealth of knowledge now brings a bushel of controversy and indeed some acrimony on the riding front, something a new government could probably do without.

A wise Conservative would have been smart to not listen to the talk show circuit in Western Canada today, especially in rabid Vancouver where politics is akin to mother’s milk. The universal cry as the word filtered out was that of betrayal from the locals, who felt that they had their votes tossed aside a short two weeks after they exercised their right to vote. Perhaps it may be wise to stay away from the computer too for a while if you're a Conservative, the reaction on the CBC bulletin boards is not for enjoyable reading. Then again, the Conservatives don't strike me as a group that spend a lot of time watching the CBC or reading their bulletin boards.

It was with interest to gauge the reaction of the media with the desertion of Emerson from the floundering ship Liberal, the CBC seemed in awe over such an event so soon after an election, while over at CTV Mike Duffy called it a Kim Campbell moment, which makes for a nice sound bite, but perhaps is not very accurate.

Rather the machinations of the Harper side today, resembled nothing in the short lived stumble filled reign of Campbell, instead perhaps it was more a move befitting a Mulroney, and considering the number of former Mulroney apostles that were helping out in the campaign that might be a more appropriate template to follow.

It was all about securing power today, and making sure that the key areas were taken care of, Emerson will be the urban face for Vancouver and the unelected Fortier will be the power broker for Montreal. Suddenly two shortcomings from election night are not quite so glaring anymore. Even more interesting is the apparent move towards the middle that the two appointments represent, a bit further away from the more perceived far right wing tilt of the party. It wasn’t a pretty way to take care of two thorny problems, but in the world of power politics it was an effective way to deal with them.

What remains to be seen is if today’s moves come back to haunt the Conservatives in the months to come, or whether this is a temporary tempest that will pass.