Critics blow whistle on Manley call. OTTAWA and TORONTO — Finance Minister John Manley was offside when he lobbied a bank chief on behalf of the Ottawa Senators hockey team, opposition parties said yesterday.”On the surface, it looks at the minimum like very bad judgment, bordering on conflict of interest,” Canadian Alliance MP and finance critic Charlie Penson said.
A quantum leap for political stupidity.
When I read the reports yesterday of his lobbying on behalf of the Senators, my first reaction was "How does the Minister of Finance think the general public will view his lobbying banks on behalf of professional hockey?". Some would say that the Liberals have become just too arrogant, believing themselves unstoppable. This incident, and the timing of his calls for the abolition of the monarchy, leads me to believe that Manley’s not arrogant… just a little stupid and naive.
Predictably the Prime Minister’s office, and his lapdog ethics councillor stand behind Manley in this latest lapse. The rules don’t prohibit what he did, so it must be alright. Whew! The are no laws against eating lobster while meeting an important client either, but most mannered people recognize that there is a risk of spraying either yourself or your client while cracking the claws, and choose another dish. Common sense, and basic risk analysis seem to be utterly lacking in Cabinet these days.
It’s time to throw the Liberals out. However, there doesn’t seem to be a way to do it. Yesterday, Lewis MacKenzie, who had been encouraged to seek the leadership of the Conservatives, bowed out.
MacKenzie spurns federal PC leadership bid. OTTAWA — Retired Major-General Lewis MacKenzie says he will not run for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party because of the ”current Jurassic mentality” among Tories who do not want to unite with the Canadian Alliance.
For myself, my opposition to a merger with the Alliance is based in a dislike of their policies (see Reject Alliance Ideology) as opposed to a sentimental attachment to the historic Conservative Party. If the Alliance were to scrap some of the radical policies around citizens initiatives, and free votes in the commons they might get my support for a merger.
