I guess the "We're not corrupt, we're incompetent" approach wasn't working
A provincial minister flees the scene of an accident. Witnesses follow him home, see him fumbling for his keys, and smell alcohol on his breath. Here's the cellphone video they took.
The police have a report of an accident involving a government vehicle but don't know who was driving it. Six weeks later, news emerges that the driver who ran after the crash was Ernie Fage. The same cabinet member who last year resigned from cabinet over a loan to a potato company leasing farmland from his family. Now, Fage has once again resigned, but hasn't given up his seat.
The police apparently were investigating the accident. But once the police found out who had been driving the vehicle, the investigating officer was not informed. Meanwhile, the transportation minister, Angus MacIsaac, knew about the accident and, in a story in the Halifax Chronicle Herald, was quoted as saying, "I was simply informed by my deputy minister that this inquiry had been made." He also told the premier's chief of staff.
Good enough. Why be curious, eh?
And the chief of staff, Bob Chisholm? Well, he suspected Fage had had too much to drink. But he didn't ask him. And when the premier's communications officer told Chisholm thatFage had assured her it was a minor accident, that was good enough for him. Why be curious? Surely no good can come of it.
Has Premier Rodney MacDonald's faith in these folks wavered, following this brilliant performance? Of course not. The premier is loyal. Maybe not to the people who elected him, but certainly to his cronies. Ernie did "the right thing" apparently, by resigning, and that's good enough from Premier Rodney. Or maybe, after this quote, we should call him The Decider Jr. : "It's my government, I'm the premier, it's my staff."
And his chief of staff? The guy who sat on a potential scandal without informing his boss about it? Rodney stands by him too. The CBC reports that "MacDonald said he's not happy his senior staff didn't tell him all they knew. But he said he wasn't planning to fire Chisholm, saying anyone can make mistakes and describing his right-hand man as well-respected."
The police have a report of an accident involving a government vehicle but don't know who was driving it. Six weeks later, news emerges that the driver who ran after the crash was Ernie Fage. The same cabinet member who last year resigned from cabinet over a loan to a potato company leasing farmland from his family. Now, Fage has once again resigned, but hasn't given up his seat.
The police apparently were investigating the accident. But once the police found out who had been driving the vehicle, the investigating officer was not informed. Meanwhile, the transportation minister, Angus MacIsaac, knew about the accident and, in a story in the Halifax Chronicle Herald, was quoted as saying, "I was simply informed by my deputy minister that this inquiry had been made." He also told the premier's chief of staff.
Good enough. Why be curious, eh?
And the chief of staff, Bob Chisholm? Well, he suspected Fage had had too much to drink. But he didn't ask him. And when the premier's communications officer told Chisholm thatFage had assured her it was a minor accident, that was good enough for him. Why be curious? Surely no good can come of it.
Has Premier Rodney MacDonald's faith in these folks wavered, following this brilliant performance? Of course not. The premier is loyal. Maybe not to the people who elected him, but certainly to his cronies. Ernie did "the right thing" apparently, by resigning, and that's good enough from Premier Rodney. Or maybe, after this quote, we should call him The Decider Jr. : "It's my government, I'm the premier, it's my staff."
And his chief of staff? The guy who sat on a potential scandal without informing his boss about it? Rodney stands by him too. The CBC reports that "MacDonald said he's not happy his senior staff didn't tell him all they knew. But he said he wasn't planning to fire Chisholm, saying anyone can make mistakes and describing his right-hand man as well-respected."
posted by Philip Moscovitch Link
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