Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, December 02, 2013

Will Stephen Harper take the Tories down with him?

Last year then-premier Dalton McGuinty did the right thing for himself and his party. Burdened with unravelling scandals and lost by-elections, he resigned. It allowed his Ontario Liberal party to elect a new leader and begin to revitalize itself.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have come to the same point in his political career. The never-ending Senate scandal has undermined his personal credibility and is damaging the Conservative brand. The Tory vote was down in all four of last week’s by-elections.
His departure would pave the way for a new style of leadership and a fresh articulation of Conservative policy.

The events that unfold in front of him in the months ahead hold little hope of vindication. His unlikely version of the Senate scandal will either completely collapse or remain in haunting limbo.

Harper’s defence is that he didn’t know about the political scheming that’s swirled around him for a year. If he had, he would have stopped it.

But for many Canadians that’s not an acceptable ethical standard.

Even if he didn’t know, he should have. It’s his office. It’s his chief of staff, Nigel Wright, who is accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust by the RCMP. It’s his appointed Senators, Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau who disgraced themselves and were removed from the Upper House.

It’s his party’s chief fundraiser, Senator Irving Gerstein, who allegedly interfered with the Deloitte expense audit. And it’s two of his most senior Senators, LeBreton and Olsen, who the RCMP alleges have been less than truthful. None of these allegations have been proven in court.

It all revolves around Harper. Those who preformed unethically, immorally, maybe even criminally, were all part of the Prime Minister’s inner circle.

It’s surprising. This monumental lack of judgment seems to elude Harper. Apparently he doesn’t see a “smoking gun” in the latest RCMP documents concerning what he knew and when. He thinks he can cling to his narrow ethical standard of “I didn’t know” and continue to stonewall his way through this crisis.

He can’t. He and his party are being judged by a much broader standard of behaviour.

There is also the likely legal road ahead. If charges are laid against Wright and any of the named Senators — which seems probable — it could mean years of criminal trials.

They will be media spectacles. Those accused and the witnesses called (possibly even Harper), will have to give their account of events under oath — for the first time. The resulting revelations will serve to reactivate the current atmosphere of clear and present danger for the Conservatives up to and including the next election.

If Harper decides to go, the Conservatives won’t be able to duck all the political fallout that lies ahead. But as with the Ontario Liberals, the load would be lighter without the baggage of a compromised leader.

The Tories have been building a credible election platform. The last Throne Speech continued the focus on core centre-right issues: jobs and the economy, free trade, law and order, a smaller and smarter government. It promised a wide range of consumer friendly initiatives that they can roll out over the next year.

More important, the recent Economic Update suggests the Conservatives will balance their operating budget by 2015, and even show a surplus. It will enable them to make good on their promises to lower personal taxes, extend income splitting, and increase tax free savings limits. These goodies could come as early as their 2015 budget, or as part of their election platform.

For an electorate still struggling with the fallout of the Great Recession this will be welcome. It will play well against what Liberal leader Justin Trudeau eventually prescribes to save the middle class, and what the NDP promises to save the working class.

For a growing number of Conservatives, Harper’s beginning to look like the wrong leader to take this 2015 election strategy forward.

To the PM’s credit he has developed credible contenders for his job. The Conservative leadership gene pool is deeper than that of any opposition party. Jason Kenney, Peter MacKay, John Baird, James Moore and others are election- and cabinet-tested leadership candidates. Former cabinet star Jim Prentice would bring integrity and talent to the race.

A spring leadership convention would provide a much-needed opportunity for the Conservatives to relaunch their message with a new leader capable of delivering it with openness, accountability and warmth.

If Harper cares about his legacy and the party he helped create, he will step aside next year. If he does, the Conservatives have a chance of forming the next government. If he doesn’t, he will be the author of his own destruction.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: R. Michael Warren

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