YVONNE JONES WINS BUT NL BIGGEST LOSER

So, the voters have informed Peter Penashue his services are no longer required. Whom it will shock is uncertain; possibly, only the P.C. Party of Canada.

The entire spectacle is tough to comprehend.  Peter was feckless, as an MP and as a Cabinet Minister.  In the briefest of tenures, he has etched a place among the ‘weakest of the weak’ sent to the hallowed halls of Parliament.

That the National P.C. Party did not consider a Nomination Meeting in an effort to suss out other, possibly more electable or more suitable candidates, is inexplicable. It’s as if they didn’t really want Peter’s Labrador Seat all that badly. 

The current Majority Government forgets its near death experience when it was a ‘Minority’ player in the House of Commons.  A busy PM and non-stop Cabinet Ministers, seemingly, don’t have time to weigh the importance or the long term implications of one loss.  A Justin Trudeau may be a featherweight now, but, politics is a fickle sport and such wins exact a price. Remember Danny’s ABC Campaign?  Now, the Province is completely shut out of the Federal Government.

Good Bye Peter Penashue. And Good Luck.

The public can be forgiven if they feel baffled, not by Peter Penashue’s resignation, but that he was anointed, by the Federal Tories, to run again.  Evidently, the Tories have calculated that they can attract no one more electable.  Quite possibly, they harbour an illusion that the locals are passive enough to be forgiving of both his poor performance and bad behaviour.

Penashue’s missteps were, at first, discounted by his freshman experience in the large and complex political environment that is Ottawa.  It was thought that all he needed was a period of orientation.  Yet, as the weeks went by it became clear he was no quick study. Nor, indeed, had he a penchant for forthrightness or an ability to communicate with his constituents, the media or the people of the Province.

The Prime Minister’s vocal support, in Parliament, declaring Penashue ‘the best MP ever from Labrador’ had all the arrogance of one who could care less whether the former MP prevails.  Had the PM indicated, openly and sincerely, that Penshue’s behaviour was unacceptable, that a higher standard of behaviour is expected from his MPs, that he wants him re-elected, and if successful, he will keeps tabs on him, we would only have expected as much.