Sorting through the tea leaves
By Ivan Morgan
This is where it starts to get interesting.
With the provincial election only a month or two away, we’re beginning to see interesting things happening. Interesting because most of us haven’t the faintest idea what is going on. Sure, most people neither know nor care about politics, but I care, and for now I am reduced to reading the tea leaves.
If you are a regular reader, you will know I have written a lot – maybe too much – about how unhappy I am with the current state of provincial politics.
Are things bad?
Everywhere I go people from all walks of life and all ages talk politics with me. The number one theme is the fear to speak up. People tell me they don’t feel they can safely say what they think. They feel they will be branded, cancelled, and belittled for just saying what they feel. They feel intimidated. In short, they feel shut out of the political dialogue of this place; that their opinions aren’t welcome and don’t matter. Absolutely pay taxes, their money is welcome, but back off talking about how it should be spent. They are frustrated and, in many cases, angry. Not since the Smallwood era have I seen this level of voter intimidation. Will this frustration carry over to the ballot box?
I don’t think so. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in the political scene right now to tap into this frustration, which I think could be a groundswell.
Ideologically the two main parties are close to identical. As my mother used to call them, the “innies” and the “outties.” The Liberals are currently the innies, the Progressive Conservatives are the outties.
The Liberals carry the baggage of being 10 years in power, with really nothing to show for it outside of financial scandals and resource giveaways. Not an enviable record. On top of that, there seems to be a large exodus of senior folk. They have shed Andrew Parsons, Tom Osborne, Premier Andrew Furey, Deputy Premier Siobhan Coady, Perry Trimper, John Abbott, Steve Crocker, John Haggie, and Scott Reid with rumours of more to come.
Turnover is healthy, but this is a lot of experience walking out the door. Is this healthy change or something else? The Liberal party is famed for not airing its dirty laundry in public, so we are just watching from the sidelines, reading the tea leaves.
Aa I mentioned, turnover is healthy, unless you are in the Progressive Conservative party. Not much new blood there – not yet in any case. Certainly, no new blood where it matters, at the top.
Paul Lane, a politician whose opinion I respect, recently tweeted about this Liberal exodus, saying all the Tories have to do is “keep their powder dry…” and watch the “S.S. Liberal” take on water,” like the Tories did under Paul Davis in 2015.
If Lane is correct (as he often is) then that means the Tory political strategy is “it’s our turn.” Seriously? They can’t do better?
Is the party that recently brought you Muskrat Falls – which makes Liberal financial mismanagement look like a minor shoplifting charge – going to campaign on “strong management you can trust”? Oh please.
Jeez Louise. What a situation.
A quick note on the NDP. People ask me why I never discuss the New Democrats. I have a few reasons. First, I worked for them for a long time, and thus out of respect, I bite my tongue. Next, I believe you don’t pick on people when they are down. The NDP have their troubles. There are lots of good people who work very hard for outcomes that usually end in heartache and tears. Despite their efforts the party is not really a factor in this upcoming election.
So, this is another whiny list of my political complaints. Easy enough to do in Newfoundland politics. Do I have ideas for how things can get better? You bet. Stay tuned for next week when I trot out my own ideas on that.
If you don’t think so already, that will convince you I am loopy.
Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivam.morgan@gmail.com