Frankie Baby and Danny Boy

Work in Progress by Ivan Morgan

When I was a younger fellow I had this drinking game. I would loudly declare Frank Moores the greatest Premier we ever had and then take on all comers. Okay, I hung out with political nerds. I knew the man a little. I campaigned with him, worked for him briefly as a chauffer/gopher (I was 18) and through my parents, being Joey fighters and Tory backroom folks, I saw all of what happened up front. In fact, he was friends with my parents and so I saw that side of him.

Having seen firsthand what it took to beat the Smallwood Liberals, and what he faced when he and his team took power, I felt I could always defend him adequately. While far from perfect (as are we all) I think he did a lot for this place.

Years later during Danny Williams’ tenure that game became increasingly difficult. When Danny had the top office people would mock me saying compared to Danny, Frank had been an Old School duffer. They argued Danny was far and away the better premier. They backed it up with plenty of evidence. A couple of times I felt my resolve weakening.

While working as a journalist I covered him and his administration. I was preoccupied with being unbiased (back when that was a thing) and worried my secret admiration for what he was doing would cloud my judgement and bias my work. I worked hard at staying professional.

I saw my role as a principled opposition, asking the tough questions. Besides, pissing him off was fun! Still my drinking game got tougher and tougher.

Muskrat Falls put me back in good form. After seven great years it seems he blew it going out the door.

Williams has been in the news lately saying he stopped the Liberal’s Churchill Falls deal with Hydro Quebec. In fact, he says it is his single greatest achievement since entering politics. The media was asking him about the $46,900 he donated to the current Tory party which is now in government.

Liberal MHA Fred Hutton was sent out to criticize Williams, saying his track record on hydroelectric deals was not very good. Williams once said former premiers should keep political opinions to themselves. Hutton said Williams should take his own advice.

Just more political blarney.

It made me think, however, why Williams is even bothering with this. I’m no spring chicken and he’s 10 years to the day older than me. Here’s my question: Is he trying to salvage his reputation from the debacle that is Muskrat Falls?

I think he genuinely cares about this place, and I think, like many of us, he saw the proposed deal with Hydro Quebec as our province getting snookered – again.

But here are other questions. Where was he during the developing Muskrat Falls disaster? It was his baby. To be fair, he hatched the scheme and then resigned. It was others who made a dog’s breakfast of it. But those people were his people, so he does hold part of the blame. So where was he? Why was he silent? We weren’t.

He announced his retirement on November 25, 2010, having just signed the Muskrat Falls project. Now 16 years later here he is back in the fray. Why?

Like it or not, Muskrat Falls tarnished his otherwise enviable legacy. Big time.

Were he to accomplish wrangling a better deal for us from Hydro Quebec, it would go a long way to mitigating his Muskrat Falls disaster. A disaster he knows, and we know, was his idea. A win at this late hour might help how history remembers him. Personally, I wish him well and hope his efforts help.

Even if it makes my drinking game hard again.

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