Remember how he was there all the time in the election? Making us feel like he could smile and wave and knew we were out here? I was thinking about how Stevie has gone silent even while his MP roasted a bit in the first week of his mandate and the Globe has been thinking about it as well:
Peter Donolo, an executive vice-president at the Strategic Counsel who was communications director for former prime minister Jean Chrétien when the Liberals came to power in 1993, said the Conservatives have had the worst start of any federal government he can remember. “Mr. Harper had this Day One which I don’t think went according to plan . . . and he has kind of disappeared.” There is not much the Prime Minister could have done to help the Emerson situation by speaking about it publicly, Mr. Donolo said. “It’s not like he can solve it by making an appearance or going on a TV show for an interview.” …
In the six weeks until MPs return to the House of Commons, the Opposition and press gallery members will be looking for ways to occupy their idle hands. And while Mr. Harper works on his Throne Speech, prepares legislation and receives briefings, the news generated in his absence is unlikely to be positive. But Tim Powers, a Conservative strategist, said it would be wrong to create meaningless news events. “You can’t just do things for the sake of doing things. That’s never been Harper,” he said. “I think people would prefer the substance to the sizzle and I think Harper gives them substance.”
Me, I don’t mind. We have had about 3 years of way too much Federal politics and a break is nice. Plus the Olympics are on. But sooner or later I will be looking at my tax forms and figuring out how much I had to send to Ottawa and it would be nice to get a little bit of a show for my money. Aside from the politics, it will be excruciating if the new Prime Minister decides that he does not have a public role and need not lead only decide, though it will be a new and unexpected way for a Tory government to shoot itself in the foot.
But if the silence is to come up with new plans like equalization that does not take into account Alberta’s oil and gas revenue but costs Ontario a billion more instead of, day, ten billion less…well, maybe we ought to get noisy.