No Election in 2010 - A few weeks ago I mused that prorogation made sense to me. It seems this morning that the Prime Minister thinks it makes sense as well. While the opposition may be outraged and Mr. Coyne may make eloquent (although somewhat debatable as it applies to the present case) arguments regarding the importance of Parliament in our democratic system,the bottom line is that Canadians are not enough engaged in these matters to be even outraged. It is not without reason that the news is leaking today, even as most of us and the media are focused on the announcement of the Olympic hockey team. Those who want to make principled arguments regarding the role of Parliament in holding a government accountable and how that is or is not working should probably best spend the next three months refining their strategy on how to attract the attentions of Canadians and try again after the Olympics. Right now, Canadians don't care about politics and the Conservatives will only increase in the polls by staying out of the news except for timely photo-ops. That of course, requires effective management on the issues of the day, but if "the trains run on time," 2010 will be a year without a Canadian federal election.
Why give awards for Newsmakers? - So Stephen Harper is Canada's newsmaker of the year according to CTV but Canwest and Global editors have him "edged out" by President Obama. This is an annual exercise I can't quite figure out. Why is it significant who made the news the most? Surely, what you make the news for is more of a matter of concern. And besides, isn't who (or what) makes the news reflect the judgment of editors as much as it does the contribution of the newsmaker?
The Trudeau Fan Club continues - I suppose the previous point came to mind after reading yesterday's column by Lawrence Martin (Jean Chretien's biographer) pumping Justin Trudeau as "the politician who can change things." I suppose Mr. Martin is free to do what he wants with the op-ed space provided him but that ranked up there as a puff piece as much as any I have seen in a bit. I suppose if Justin Trudeau can command a $10,000 speaking fee from Liberals as reported, he is someone we should keep an eye on but in the future, one hopes that Mr. Trudeau's media promoters would provide a bit more substance for their puffery than did Mr. Martin yesterday. But hey, it is the sort of thing that helps people become newsmakers of the year.
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