The announcement by the MHA for St. John’s South, Tom
Osborne, that he is quitting the Dunderdale P.C.s, had me recalling my June 25th
Post, entitled, “All Eyes on the Backbench, Please”.
Since posting that warning of the political cost of Dunderdale’s declining popularity her personal Poll numbers have been in free fall. Her comment, that ‘strong leadership’ does
not govern by Poll results, was unconvincing.
Everyone knows, Premiers can’t let a single poll result or
two cause a reversal in decision making.
But a trend will. And what
Premier Dunderdale is experiencing right now, is exactly that, a trend.
First, when the Premier’s popularity descends into free
fall, the authority of leadership is the first casuality. Most Premiers have
enough personal IOUs with caucus members that they can survive periods of voter
displeasure, especially when it occurs early in the mandate. This is a crucial
test which Dunderdale has failed.
uncontested Tory leadership position, she all but shunned him. It was one thing not to appoint him to
Cabinet; that is her prerogative. It is
quite another not to make him feel welcomed inside the Tory caucus and attempt
to gain his confidence. That is an error
in judgement.
Third, Osborne’s departure signals that the Government’s
failing fortunes go deeper than bad polls.
strategic direction, as any government must. In large measure, the last
election was fought on residual energy from the William’s administration (though
some of it had a destructive component) and enough oil revenue to permit the
government to say “yes” to virtually any demand for infrastructure and
services.
A policy mandate or even a philosophy of leadership was
never defined during the campaign or since. Hence, the public has no sense of
what her administration wants to achieve other than build an expensive and
risky hydro project.
The Fourth point is an extension of the last one. Right now, only Muskrat Falls and Bill 29
defines Dunderdale’s leadership. She took an awful political beating on Bill
29, especially once Opposition parties realized that they had the public’s
attention. Her failure to realize that the public would connect the Bill with its
desire to hide critical information on Muskrat Falls showed the deft hand of an
amateur.
the P.C. Caucus, some unusual and destructive force has a grip on the same Party
that defeated Smallwood and turned years of struggle into the historic
“Atlantic Accord”. Something very
fundamental has changed.
Osborne is no newbie when it comes to the Tory party. He
learned the art of politics from his very partisan parents when he was in short
pants. He, his mother and his Uncle held seats in the William’s government, simultaneously. His father served on City Council and was a
dedicated Tory since before the Moores’ era.
The Osborne family’s organizational skills are legendary in the P.C.
Party. Hence, Tom Osborne’s loss is not
of one individual but of an entire organization. Tory organizers in St. John’s will surely take
notice.
launch of former premier Brian Peckford’s autobiography, “Someday the Sun will
Shine and Have Not Will Be No More”. Neither
the Premier nor a single Cabinet Minister or any other backbench MHA came to
congratulate him on his achievement. Dwight Ball and other Opposition MHAs and
Senators found the occasion worthy enough to be present.
This was an expression of small-mindedness by Dunderdale and
co., to the man who, in no small measure, helped define her Party, played a key
role in Constitution building at a critical juncture in Canadian history, and
who won, for the Province, the ‘Atlantic Accord’. It was an unfortunate reflection on her
character; it magnified the fact that she had neither the capacity to display
common courtesies or that she had ever learned the art of politics. Certainly,
she does not understand that all disagreements are not personal.
rather than paying him the deference he was due. In snubbing Peckford’s Book
launch, Dunderdale and her Ministers not only missed an opportunity to be ‘one’
with enough Tory partisans to hold a rally, she reminded them of why she is a
failing Premier. Leadership is not
always about the things you do; more often, it is about the messages you convey.
Tom Osborne understood this better than the Premier.
If Dunderdale does not change her approach to governing,
there will be more resignations and defections. The sense of unease that this
first defection will create, the public struggle with higher cost estimates on
Muskrat and the growing public alarm will not go down well with MHAs who like
to deal with constituents without reference to their ill-suited leader.
is ready to try things differently.
Otherwise, Osborne will not be the last caucus member to defect.
There is another aspect to this story that has little to do
now with Premier Dunderdale. Given that
only one seat keeps the NDP from having equal status with the Liberals in the
House of Assembly, the question is both obvious and important: in which
opposition party will Osborne be comfortable?
A subject for another day.
I suspect that given the premier's funky blend of Williams and Harper strategies, the PC party may soon face a split. The "P" and the "C".
A good assesment of the history, and a vital point on the political machine. You might take it one step further when it comes to fund-raising. Bill 29 is an undefendable policy move in a modern democracy and those who donate to political parties will be wary of tossing money or public support to a government that is losing its connection to the populace. There are still some good principled, thinking people in the government, but the longer they sit quietly on Bill 29, (now that somebody has stood up and bravely spoken), the more damage they will do to their own reputations by standing behind it. There is still a window to fix Bill 29 – to restore accountability. But to do nothing now, suggests that they like the flaws in the act. The question will be, who jumps first, the next defector, or the Premier to fix a very poorly constructed policy.
There is no fiscal conservative voice in Newfoundland. The policies of the PC party of the past 9 years are perhaps better suited to the NDP party. What is happening now is that the people of the province are starting to awake to the record of the Williams / Dunderdale governments. The growth in public sector spending in the last nine years, combined with the 400 million (and counting) spent on the Lower Churchill will be a lasting mark on the governments. It is a period which will only be known for lost opportunity. Never in our history has there ever been so much potential for a lasting change. Instead of solid progressive, and fiscally conservative policies to steward the province into the future, Williams over-extended the province, and embarked upon the Lower Churchill journey. The LCP should have never passed gate 2. Gate 3 is coming within the next 2 months. I predict that it will not pass and the MF project will become the largest debacle in our history. Dunderdale will enevitably take the blame for a terrible project, whose terms were ill negotiated by the Williams government.
Ms. Dunderdale should shut down the project, implement cuts, and drive a good solid PC governemnt in the next 2 years. She is a smart lady, and passionate. She needs to govern her way, and not like Danny. She needs to write her own story, and not simply read from the book she was handed.
Most of all we need to start living and spending like a province of 500 k people.
Is the St. John's Tory Machine turning into an NDP Machine?
It really is unfortunate that Premier Dunderdale didn't attend the launch. With Brian Peckford's former campaign manager, Frank Ryan, there, and all the Progressive Conservative professionals, she could have generated a lot of goodwill, that would generate into topping up her war chest for the next election, if the nouveau-Conservatives haven't sent her to retirement in Marystown.
As for Tom Osborne, I think he should stay where he is. He may find that working with the next Conservative Premier much more enjoyable than working in the backbench. I'm sure his wardrobe consultant would agree that red or orange would clash with his natural complexion.
Hi There, I just spent a little time reading through your posts, which I found entirely by mistake whilst researching one of my projects. Please continue to write more because it’s unusual that someone has something interesting to say about this. Will be waiting for more!