It's now been well more than 12 hours since the comic stylings of Gerry Ritz came to light. A good case can be made that Stephen Harper should've dumped him from cabinet on the spot. But having stuck with him this far, you'd better hope for Harper's sake that he's sticking with him for the long haul.Adam's right, by firing Mr. Ritz on the spot, the PM would not only be demonstrating his true decisiveness as a leader, he would be clearly indicating to Canadians that a Prime Minister will not tolerate a member of the cabinet embarrassing him in public in such a manner. Instead, he has decided to stand by his Ag minister. So if Harper buckles on this one now, the opposition party's will not train their guns on Mr. Ritz, but on the head of government, Mr. Harper, who twiddled his thumbs even as Canadians and the families themselves showed their disdain and outrage over Ritz's insensitive remarks regarding the listeriosis victims.
To dump him immediately would've led to a day or two of bad press, but killed the story and enhanced Harper's reputation for decisiveness. Sticking with him arguably avoids adding more legitimacy to the comments as a full-blown scandal, and at least proves Harper loyal (if a little stubborn). But if he dumps him after a day or two of bad press, he'll get the worst of all worlds - a legitimate scandal with legs that calls into question the Conservative leader's instincts and proves he won't hold strong in the face of bad press.
Just so you know, as a conservative, I admire Harper's loyalty on this one, but I deplore his stubbornness even more. I hope when he made this decision that he realized that hangin' in with Ritz could very well put him at a serious political disadvantage in this campaign.
It's a big risk, however, it's his head on the platter [now] if it backfires.
I have reincarnated this old blog and will be following both the national as well as the local developments in the New Brunswick region leading up to the 2011 federal election.
Posts
10 comments:
Come on, he has apologized. Move on. Most of us have said really stupid things. Cut the minister some slack.
Point taken. As well, I'm sure Gerry, a guy I know to be a decent man, is probably fighting his own personal demons as we speak.
It was a stupid comment, but the hoopla around it is stupid too.
"Fire Him" - from what? Parliament is dissolved for an election! If his comments were so bad then its now up to his constituents to deliver the ultimate censure and vote him out.
So the rest of us and the MSM should really get on with some more important issues that will affect our nation.
I agree with kit, the chardonnay and cheese crowd in Toronto (who run the CBC) really want to make a bigger deal outta this. An apology has been made, move on.
I second that bill, as kit is right. To be honest, I think I got a little carried away with the severity of the comment to realize there is nothing to be fired from (accept his candidacy). As well, it would send a poor message to other bureaucrats with an axe to grind. In other words, they would be of the notion that they could easily bring down a minister by leaking private conversations. Not a good precedent to set.
Just another thing, kit's point is golden as it separates the argument some are making in the press (L. Ian) that this is 1985 "Tunagate" all over again, especially how it is being delt with. Can't be, there really isn't a government (or a minister) like John Fraser to fire.
Although, you could argue the voters could fire him by sending the government a message.
My knee jerk reaction as well was to fire him..but..his decision to stand by him is also quite admirable.
However, I think Harper could have been a little more forthcoming with reasons that he wasn't firing Ritz, ie. he's an honourable man that made a mistake, he works hard for Canadians and deserves a second shot, tell a story about when he babysat your kittens, etc, etc.
Keep him, but let Canadians know why you are keeping him.
I think all you guys are missing the big picture here. Canadian Food Safety.
The Conservative Govt. has reduced the overseeing of food testing in Canada by reducing the number of food inspectors. The Canadian Medical Association has come out against this.
Listeria at Maple Leaf, in cheese products from Quebec, and today we hear that a NL company is recalling products for the same reason. Apparently Canada has the lowest food safety guidelines of countries such as the US and EU countries. What's up with that?
Ritz should be fired, but fired because he relaxed the rules and even went so far as to lobby the US to relax their rules to Canadian imports.
What's a few million dollars when it comes to food safety? A dollar or two person? I bought some shaved ham yesterday (for the first time in a couple of months), but let me tell you I was nervous about doing it.
You get the government that the pay for, in the same way that you get the car, the coat, the house, whatever.
I very much agree, Le politico. He should have come up with a better explanation.
You get the government that the pay for, in the same way that you get the car, the coat, the house, whatever.
anon, not a big fan of government solving all problems, but in this case they should beef up on their food and safety regulations, with specific focus on inspection safety.
Post a Comment