Who's Sorry Now?

OTTAWA (CP) - Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay didn't apologize to caucus on Wednesday for what some have called his over-the-top behaviour at the party's policy convention last weekend.

Nobody brought it up during the weekly session and no apology was offered, he said.

"There was no discussion about that."

Rubbish.

MacKay chose one of the most trivial issues possible over which to throw a public conniption fit and threaten to blow up the party, creating all sorts of bad press when we need it least, and everybody in caucus just said, "Gee, nothing much to talk about here"?

The Nova Scotia MP described his relations with Conservative Leader Stephen Harper as "hunky-dory, everything's great - that's a good Maritime phrase."

For how long, though? Does Stephen Harper really need to keep Peter MacKay as deputy leader for much longer? The PC's who were going to leave because of the merger, have long since left already. The political necessity of promoting former PC's to top jobs will disappear as people keep working together and cease to think of each other as former members of the PC's or Alliance.

MacKay was upset last weekend in Montreal by an attempt to give some ridings more voting delegates at conventions, calling it a betrayal of an equality promise in the merger talks between the Alliance and Tories that led to the new Conservative party.

Harper was seen at the convention kicking a chair after MacKay's outburst refocused attention on a perceived split within the party.

Party insiders had said they thought it would be best if MacKay were to apologize for his behaviour and move on.

MacKay has already shown a propensity to shoot from the hip and run off the reservation. Astute observers will recall his threat to personally violate C-68 as an act of civil disobedience--somewhat unseemly coming from a lawyer. Or his outburst about C-250. His devil's deal with David Orchard. Etc. etc.

Had one of the so-called so-con wingnuts been equally as vocal last weekend about "betrayal", we'd never have heard the end of it in the MSM. The MSM has not called MacKay to task for threatening to split the party, of course, because the MSM would have loved nothing better.

Stephen Harper doesn't need to worry about his right flank next time out. MacKay will almost certainly open fire from the left. Dump him now before he loses us the next election.