Barring any last-minute surprises, Stephen Harper will shuffle the cabinet before Parliament reconvenes later this month.
It's no secret that Rona Ambrose will be out of Environment. Her inability to sell the Clean Air Act in the face of miltant Kyoto orthodoxy, and the need to counter Stephane Dion's clean green image, helped force this shuffle.
But what to do about Peter MacKay?
It may now be safe politically for Harper to dump one of the weakest links in Cabinet, or if not to punt him from Cabinet, to shuffle him somewhere where he can do less harm than in Foreign Affairs.
Three years on from the merger, it is no longer necessary to keep MacKay in a position of prominence simply because of his past role as the last leader of the old PC party. People have stopped thinking of themselves as members of one of the old legacy parties; party factions have realigned along different lines now.
MacKay has proven himself to be an inept, or at least indifferent, handler of the foreign affairs portfolio. The position can't afford a lightweight. Get someone in there with a little heft.
Source: National Post
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7 comments:
You forgot Stockwell.
BCL - as much as I am "sure" you will disagree - Stockwell has been a VERY effective minister. Accept it.
In what sense, other than "effective at drawing ridicule to the party's position on whatever issue he chooses to talk about"
its just hard to find the right people for the job in the conservative party
AG:
BCL is right. Stock has been almost as much of an embarrassment in the past year as he was a leader of the party. Whether its his position on global warming, eastern "spear chuckers", Maher Arar, the Charter, terrorist groups, Mexican politics or religion, the man truly is a joke.
I have met the man numerous times and he is very pleasant and friendly, but he has proven extremely incompetent as a politician and in his role as Minister of Public Safety.
I guess it's OK for Liberal Ministers to slander different groups of people like Hedy fry w/ her cross-burning remarks , but not OK for Tories. I ain't defending Stock for the spearchucker remark, but spare us the hypocrisy
And just where will Dion put Hedy Fry and Joe Volpe?
Maybe he hasn't been told yet.
Sure quiet from the Lib news front. Chretien, Iggy & Rae must be in deep negotiations as to what Dion's convictions/principles should be on the issues.
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