Too bad for us he doesn’t want the job

Work in Progress/By Ivan Morgan

Premier Furey hit the silk last week, surprising many. It didn’t take long for others in the Liberal party to start positioning themselves for the top job. One prominent Liberal stated categorically he is not interested. I think that’s too bad – he’d be my choice, and one of the top reasons I think he’d be perfect is he doesn’t want the job.

Before I explain, let me note I am not naming the person out of respect for him, but he knows who he is, and many will figure it out.

Why do I think not wanting the job is an important qualification?

Some background. My parents were Joey fighters, and I was raised in a very political house. We were rebels on the side of good battling the corrupt dictator Smallwood and his cronies. Our little farmhouse was PC party headquarters in St. John’s. Think of the Confederation Building as the Death Star and you’ve got the picture. I was only little, but they were heady days.

Joey had to be taken out, but by who? The Tories scoured the landscape, but few had the fortitude to take on Smallwood and his buddies. A group of organizers, including my parents, worked on Frank Moores. Educated, charismatic, handsome and rich – they thought he was perfect! Problem was he was not interested.

After 22 years at the helm, Joey still wanted to be Premier. He revelled in the power, the adoration, the grandeur. He’d stop at nothing to defeat his enemies.

Frank Moores, on the other hand, didn’t really want the job. This is a community newspaper so I can’t repeat here what John Crosbie once told me – in a recording I still have – about Frank’s reply to being asked to run against Joey.

He got cajoled into it. I always felt he did it out of some sort of national duty. It was a long hard campaign, and really really nasty. In a nutshell Frank didn’t need it. Nonetheless he took it all for the team. I was only little, but I was there. And I was raised on the war stories.

I remember Mr. Moores, as I called him, the newly minted Premier, jokingly telling my mom and dad that when they got to the Eighth Floor – the Premier’s office, Joey’s office – they found fingernail scratches on the desk, where Joey had to be hauled away. Funny yes, but not far off.

Frank agreed to two terms, and he was outta there the moment he could. To my mind he was the greatest Premier we ever had.

I have always thought the wrong people often become Premier, and for the wrong reasons. That’s not a column – that’s a book. The best people for the job I know wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.

Another person who would have been a brilliant premier didn’t want the job because he knew his personal life would become a big issue if he ran. He chose not to put his family through that.  I am happy to say it wouldn’t be an issue today, but this place has not always been open –minded. Believe me, it’s our loss.

Danny Williams didn’t need the job either, didn’t take a salary, and had to deal with a lot of crap for which he had neither the time nor the patience. Stuff he didn’t sign on for. I know, I covered a lot of his premiership. He did what he could, and I think he was mighty glad to be done.

I actually pleaded with Tom Marshall to stay on as Premier, even though I worked for another party. He did great work, most of it unsung, but couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Which brings us to today. The party in power is going to have a leadership race. Lots of people are going to smile a lot, say a lot of upbeat stuff, and tell you why they are the best choice to lead. We will all have to work on our gag reflexes. 

For their sake it had better be civil. Nasty leadership campaigns are never a good idea. There’s a great book, It’s Just Politics, by author Sonia Glover, about the 2001 Liberal leadership contest here in Newfoundland. Should be required reading for anyone organizing this one.

The one candidate I think would be a good choice, not just for the Liberal party, but for all of us, isn’t going to touch it. Not going to run. Doesn’t want the job.

He has his reasons. and I respect them.

Tis a pity.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com