Just when we thought all politicians were out on the barbecue circuit and the words “red chamber” need never be heard again until, well, the Duffy trial resumes, along comes Stephen Harper with some mid-summer musings on our chamber of sober second thought.
This is what political spin doctors and crisis managers refer to as “getting in front” of an issue.
We can see why he might want to do that and in particular why the PM might want to use a summer announcement ahead of an election to distance himself from the august senators.
Or should we make that August senators?
August being the time that the infamous trial of disgraced former senator Mike Duffy is set to resume.
From Harper’s perspective it could get unpleasant to have a lot of political dirty laundry aired afresh and it could be downright awkward to have the likes of former chief of staff Nigel Wright take the stand.
Harper said Friday he’s heard Canadians aren’t happy with the Senate. So the PM says he plans to leave all vacant Senate seats empty. Well, OK.
To be fair, Harper has never been a fan of the Senate. But the Senate, rooted in the depths of Byzantine federal-provincial power struggles, isn’t an easy thing to change. And while the Senate has continued to exist, Harper has been happy to use it for its unofficial purpose — partisan politicking on the taxpayer’s dime.
Unfortunately for Stephen Harper, it’s not the senators he’s not appointing that Canadians are fuming about — it’s the ones he did appoint.
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