Harper- accountability- just another phrase for him - And he is headed out of Dodge.
Harper not happy- Well that makes all the difference now doesn't it.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...-not-happy-says-harper-as-scandals-rain-down/
Stephen Harper’s speech was a chance to be accountable. He blew it | Full Comment | National Post
Stephen Harper had a golden opportunity to say sorry to Canadians and his caucus for the Senate expenses scandal; to explain what he knew, when; and, to put forward some concrete proposals to restore the public’s faith in Parliament.
In short, his speech to caucus was a chance to be accountable. He blew it.
He expressed his unhappiness with the unspecified conduct of “some parliamentarians” and his own office and then patted himself on the back for taking “unprecedented measures” to improve accountability. Canada now has a system of governance that is the envy of the world, “something Canadians are rightly proud of”.
But pride is not the sentiment many voters are expressing to their MPs, judging by the blowback they are hearing in their ridings. “We’re taking the heat on the doorstep because of the behaviour of an unelected senator,” said one Conservative MP.
Sorry is always the hardest word for this Prime Minister, who is now en route to Peru for no apparent good reason, beyond the fact it gets him the hell out of Dodge.
The overriding impression left by the Prime Minister’s speech was that the whole Duffy Affair is an inconvenience —he called it “a distraction” — from the government’s economic agenda. Which, of course, it is.
But ethics, accountability and principled government are core to the Conservative agenda too — that’s why many people voted for the party.
This scandal can’t be wished away simply by urging caucus: “Let’s get back to work.” They are making tee-shirts in Prince Edward Island bearing the legend: ”Stuff the Duff” and a cartoon of Mike Duffy being stuffed in a garbage can.
Conservative MPs are, for the first time in my experience, talking about open mutiny. “The question for my caucus colleagues is increasingly: Who is for Harper and who is for the party that will, hopefully, outlast him?”
This story is not going away until the Prime Minister gives us some answers.
Harper not happy- Well that makes all the difference now doesn't it.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com...-not-happy-says-harper-as-scandals-rain-down/
Stephen Harper’s speech was a chance to be accountable. He blew it | Full Comment | National Post
Stephen Harper had a golden opportunity to say sorry to Canadians and his caucus for the Senate expenses scandal; to explain what he knew, when; and, to put forward some concrete proposals to restore the public’s faith in Parliament.
In short, his speech to caucus was a chance to be accountable. He blew it.
He expressed his unhappiness with the unspecified conduct of “some parliamentarians” and his own office and then patted himself on the back for taking “unprecedented measures” to improve accountability. Canada now has a system of governance that is the envy of the world, “something Canadians are rightly proud of”.
But pride is not the sentiment many voters are expressing to their MPs, judging by the blowback they are hearing in their ridings. “We’re taking the heat on the doorstep because of the behaviour of an unelected senator,” said one Conservative MP.
Sorry is always the hardest word for this Prime Minister, who is now en route to Peru for no apparent good reason, beyond the fact it gets him the hell out of Dodge.
The overriding impression left by the Prime Minister’s speech was that the whole Duffy Affair is an inconvenience —he called it “a distraction” — from the government’s economic agenda. Which, of course, it is.
But ethics, accountability and principled government are core to the Conservative agenda too — that’s why many people voted for the party.
This scandal can’t be wished away simply by urging caucus: “Let’s get back to work.” They are making tee-shirts in Prince Edward Island bearing the legend: ”Stuff the Duff” and a cartoon of Mike Duffy being stuffed in a garbage can.
Conservative MPs are, for the first time in my experience, talking about open mutiny. “The question for my caucus colleagues is increasingly: Who is for Harper and who is for the party that will, hopefully, outlast him?”
This story is not going away until the Prime Minister gives us some answers.