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Monday May 23, 2005 |
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MS. Stronach, please
meet the libs
by Angelo Persichilli
THE HILL TIMES
If Belinda Stronach believes that she
has been roughly treated by Stephen Harper, I suggest her to wait and see
how things work within the Liberal Party; she might get second thoughts. If
time is on the side of Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay, in terms of
mending the scars after the crushing departure of Stronach, it’s not the
same for the new Minister of Human Resources.
Reading the newspapers and
watching the TV reports, it appears that between Stronach and MacKay, the
latter that ended up with the shorter end of the stick in their choices.
I’m not talking about their feelings; that’s personal and has to remain
personal.
Politically, however, it’s
a different story. There’s a huge difference of culture between the Liberal
and the Conservative parties.
Stronach shouldn’t be
fooled by the cheers and the hoopla of the first few days with the Grits.
The Liberal culture knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
The "transaction" between the Liberal government and Belinda Stronach was
straightforward: you give me your vote, I’ll give you a ministry. The
usefulness of Belinda Stronach to the Liberal Party ended up at 6:15 p.m.
when her name was called in the House, she stood up and bingo: 152 votes for
the government budget.
From that moment on, she
shouldn’t expect anything more than phony smiles in public and knives in the
back in private; especially if her colleagues believe that she’s interested
in running for the leadership of the party.
And they do believe it! She
isn’t going to get anything from the party for free; now she’s a Liberal
minister, meaning she has to give everything for the party without expecting
anything in return. I’m sure she already got a taste of this "philosophy"
last Thursday when she was thrown into the Question Period coliseum without
the adequate preparation and with a piece of paper, prepared by the Prime
Minister’s Office, that read like a parrot: yes, she is a Liberal Minister
now. Needless to say, the people from the "Kremlin Bloc" in the PMO had a
new logo to prop up and, at the time, it was good for the party to show to
Canadians. If the "logo" was feeling good or bad about it, was and it will
never be a factor.
Meanwhile, there were reports that one
of the reasons Stronach decided to leave the Conservative Party was because
of her meeting with Stephen Harper on Tuesday, May 3. First of all the
meeting did not take place in the evening at Stornoway, in the residence of
Mr. Harper. The meeting took place in Mr. Harper’s office in the afternoon
and they were not alone. Present to the meeting were also Conservative House
Leader Jay Hill and Conservative Whip Rob Nicholson.
The meeting was hastily
arranged after a story appeared on The Globe and Mail where Stronach was
expressing doubts about the vote against the government and an early
election.
I do not doubt Stronach’s
good faith; the conversation with the journalist took place before the
caucus meeting; I also know that Stronach had decided on Monday, May 2, to
place a call to Harper "to try once again to make things work."
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on the point of view, that story in
the Globe messed up any good intentions. We all know what happened. Stronach
now has to learn, very fast, the culture of the Liberal Party. The marching
orders she received already last Thursday to get into Question Period was no
accident; it is the way of life in the Liberal Party. And if she doesn’t
learn the Liberal lesson very fast, she will soon remember her days spent in
the Conservative Party like Christmas vacations with her parents.
It is a different story with Peter
MacKay.
In the Conservative Party,
generally, things work differently. With the Conservatives, everything is
personal. The party and ideology take second place. The culture of the
power, the dogmatic respect for "The Party," the duplicity of reactions to
an event in front of the cameras and behind them, are all part of a foreign
culture among Conservatives. The Conservatives can fight just as hard as the
Liberals. But the difference is that the Liberals stop fighting once they
realize they may be jeopardizing their government. I mean, they stop
fighting in front of the cameras and put on a show of unity that can fool
everybody.
In this context, what do
you think was the situation within the Conservative Party after Belinda
Stronach departed and their efforts were defeated in the House?
Start with MacKay. He has never carried
more genuine respect in the party since last week. The relationship with
Stephen Harper has never been so good. After the last week’s caucus meeting,
the two shook hands, hugged and even had a lunch together in Harper’s
office. The people in the Conservative Party Leader’s Office have received
orders that "Peter has to be treated just like Stephen." Declared one source
to The Hill Times last week: "They have built a solid and really genuine
relationship."
Contrary to what many people believe,
last Thursday’s defeat is a blessing for Harper. Had the government fallen,
he had to face a volatile electorate and a divided party. Now he has a
chance to rebuild relationships, to really unify the party and prepare for
the next federal election, whenever it comes: the Gomery Inquiry will always
be there. |
