Back Room Politics - A Study in Confusion

Boy would I love to be a fly on the wall inside Stephen Harper’s, or for that matter Danny Williams’, office these days. Then again in order to know what's really going on it's more likley I'd have to get inside the heads of these two men. Now that's a scary thought. I guess there'll be no sleep for me tonight.

Seriously, anyone watching recent events in Newfoundland and Labrador knows there has to be something going on behind the scenes, very subtly of course, but something is happening.

It's almost like the feeling you get when you're watching a thriller and you know something shocking is about to happen but you can't quite put your finger on it.

Premier Williams met with Stephen Harper a few weeks ago and came out of that meeting saying he had offered the PM a number of options that would help offset the $10 or $11 billion dollar shortfall left outstanding by the Federal government’s broken promises on resource revenues and unilateral changes to the Atlantic Accord.

The thing is, Williams refused to say publicly what those options were except to say the list was a long one. One that immediately comes to mind is the Lower Churchill. Could one of those items have something to do with the development of that hydro mega-project?

Of course for years the big thorn in everyone’s side in Newfoundland and Labrador has been the billions Quebec rakes in from Upper Churchill power while the province barely makes enough to keep the turbines spinning. The Lower Churchill is seen as a chance to actually make some money from the huge river’s resources but once again Quebec stands in the way.

It makes one wonder if, since the Harper/Williams meeting took place, some sort of agreement on the Lower Churchill is in the works and if so, what could it be? Why do I say this?

Well, a few days ago the chairman of the board for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Dean McDonald, resigned suddenly. His resignation took effect immediately and he did not make any public comments on the move.

When you consider that McDonald did the same thing once before, when a former provincial government was about to sign a deal with Quebec that fell far short of providing the province with the value it deserves from the resource, the reason for the chills running down my spine become clearer perhaps.

There’s certainly room for some speculation on what all of this means. But wait, there’s more.

Mere days after the Harper/Williams "summit" Federal Minister Loyola Hearn showed up in the province on another vote buying excursion, doling out money like a drunken sailor.

For a minute or two it almost seemed as if the ice had been broken between the two levels of government and Ottawa was trying to make some sort of amends for the dirty trick they pulled on equalization. But just as everyone started thinking a truce was in place Hearn went before the microphones to tell the media that Santa (Stephen Harper) is more likely to give a child (Danny Williams) what he wants for Christmas if the child is a “good boy” and not a “bad one”.

So much for the cease fire, or is it?

Of course Hearn’s comments touched off the ire of the Premier and many voters in the province but somehow the response to Hearn's condescension seems almost muted and certainly not up to the standard of anger we’ve come to expect from Danny boy.

Of course it could be that the Christmas spirit is flowing through Danny’s veins these days but I doubt it.

Coming out of their meeting Williams gave the PM until Christmas to respond to his demands but just this week things changed once again when Harper and Williams spoke on the phone and Williams stretched that deadline to January 11, when the First Ministers are slated to meet and discuss the economy. If nothing is done, Williams claims, the ABC (Anyone but Conservative) campaign will be back on in Newfoundland and Labrador.

So why did these two adversaries talk on the phone this week after meeting recently and after not speaking at all for over a year?

They spoke because Stephen Harper decided to name John Crosby, a former federal Cabinet Minister (under Brian Mulroney), as the new Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The question then becomes, why did John Crosby, who has been retired from politics for quite some time, warrant such a plum post?

Could it be because Skipper John, one of the architects of the Atlantic Accord and a past federal Finance Minister, who is no fan of Williams’ approach to the whole equalization affair, has never the less been very outspoken in his support of the Province’s position on the matter?

Crosby has said on several occasions that he believes the federal government is wrong in this and, knowing John’s outspoken personality, it’s likely he’s been talking the same talk inside the Conservative party, perhaps fostering descent and divisions among its members.

Along with the post of Lieutenant Governor comes the obligation to not comment on political matters or to take sides in any disputes. So perhaps this is Harper’s way of making John shut his big trap and anyone who knows anything about John Crosby knows the only hope you have of shutting him up is to put him in a position where he simply can’t talk. The Lieutenant Governor’s position works as well as any gag and it’s less likely to leave unsightly gag blemishes on the skin.

Then again there’s always the Schreiber affair and the fact that Crosby is on the list of potential witnesses who may be called to testify. Perhaps the PM’s offer of a plum position at the trough has nothing to do with the equalization debate and more to do with getting on John’s good side before he sits in front of the ethics committee to discuss exactly what he knows about Mr. Harper’s good friend and advisor Brian Mulroney.

Oh to be a fly on the wall…

In politics they say a week is a lifetime. With the way things are going now I wouldn't be surprised if before the new year is over we see:

1) A deal on the Lower Churchill that sees Quebec pickup another bundle of cash for decades to come at the expense of the owners of the resource.

2) Stephen Harper gaining a majority government (thanks in some small way to an end, or at least half hearted, ABC campaign in Atlantic Canada.

3) Danny Williams planning his exit strategy from provincial politics and positioned inside the Conservative party for a future run at federal politics

4) John Crosby blowing an artery in his brain after biting down too hard on his tongue for a few months.