meet the new boss, same as the old boss
Update: Stephen Taylor responds.
The Conservative Party of Canada just won an election, campaigning on, among other things, ethics. They held the high ground. They brought down the Liberal government over serious ethical breaches. That was a government that included David Emerson, the Industry minister under the former Liberal government.
Well, now that the dust has settled from the election, and the new Prime Minister sworn in, one would expect that such high moral standards would be adhered to, at least for a little while.
But, no! Far from it. Not only did Stephen Harper welcome David "I will be Stephen Harper's worst nightmare" Emerson into caucus, he also appointed a campaign co-chair to the Senate (breaking his promise to only appoint those elected to the senate in provincial elections) and made the newly-minted senator the Minister of Public Works - so now the minister in charge of the largest ministry in the government is exempt from question in the House of Commons.
Wow. That took all of one day in power to throw ethics completely out the window. I guess ethics and accountability were cute, empty catchphrases with which to trick voters, and to be discarded the moment the Conservatives came into possession of power.
Lord Acton is famous for saying that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". It is a truism that holds up rather well; the longer a government is in power, the more corrupt it gets. This is why it is essential to regularly change governments, so that corruption may be kept in check.
And here, on the very first day in power, the Conservatives have pulled a complete 180 on ethics and accountability. They have set the bar very low, and if Lord Acton is correct (and he has been, invariably so, so far), then it will only get worse.
This is for what we threw the Liberals out? This is why we had a federal election? So that the Conservatives could behave exactly the same as the Liberals, discarding moral rectitude on the very first day?
During the election, I found myself arguing with people who said things like "all politicians are the same", saying that such an argument was merely an excuse for the excesses of the Liberals, and didn't apply to the Conservatives. Silly me!
I find it baffling that such normally clear-headed thinkers like Kate McMillan, Steve Janke, and Stephen Taylor would excuse this rubbish.
The Reform party started in Canada over precisely this sort of ethical lapse on the part of the former Progressive Conservative party; it led to a split of the right wing in Canada that lasted for a decade. Could we not have waited longer than a single day before fracturing the right wing once again?
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3 comments:
Lot's of rhetoric but you fail to explain how anything Prime Minister Harper did was unethical and lacking in accountability.Maybe Mr. Emerson has to explain why he didn't run as a conservative. This cabinet is good for the country.VF
Also, what do you mean the Tories are acting like the Liberals? Do you already forget all the corruption, arrogance and waste and lies?VF
VF, the department of Public Works is the largest department in the Canadian government. Stephen Harper appointed his campaign co-chair to the Senate, and then appointed him to be Minister of Public Works. So, now we have the minister in charge of the largest government department not even having to be present for Question Period; nor did he have to face the voters to get his position. Whatever one calls that, "accountable" it surely is not.
Remember the hue and cry when Belinda crossed the floor? And now Harper entices a Liberal across the floor by dangling a cabinet post in front of him: it is exactly the same.
I didn't forget all the corruption, waste, arrogance and lies. That is why it is so shameful that the Tories are on that same road. They don't even have the excuse of being stale; this was their very first day in power.
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