Bonehead (en francais)

I decided to wait until Monday to blog on this issue for two reasons. First, I've learned the hard way that angry blogging usually doesn't turn out very well. Second, I was hoping that Pallister would display a degree of sense and apologize for his actions. A quick review of the morning papers revealed how misplaced that hope was.

Pallister will listen to Manitobans - Press Release 31 January, 05

Pallister’s prowling of province stirs controversy
“I’m not going to apologize for having my assistant with me,” Pallister said in an interview yesterday.

“People can take issue with it all they want, but it’s not the truth. The truth is (running for the leadership) is an issue that impacts my ability to work as a member of parliament.”

Manitoba’s own Mr. Dithers
Brian Pallister probably never imagined coming home would be this hard.

The Portage-Lisgar Conservative MP hasn’t had the easy time he’s accustomed to this past week. Hit by accusations his dithering on the leadership of the provincial party has sowed confusion and will cost taxpayers thousands of dollars, Pallister has been made to squirm a little about his ambitions. And that’s not a bad thing.

To review, Pallister has been touted as one of the front-runners to replace Stuart Murray ever since the provincial Tory head asked the party to hold a leadership convention.

That afternoon, as dozens of shell-shocked provincial Tories milled about after Murray dropped the bombshell that it was time for a leadership race, Pallister played coy about seeking the still-warm leader’s seat.

He ran federally again, won his seat overwhelmingly on Jan. 23, told the Brandon Sun the provincial leadership was an option “he can’t even begin to consider right now.”

Yet three days later, he announced he wasn’t going to take a seat in the federal cabinet and was kicking off a three-week tour to consult Manitobans about running for the provincial leadership — all while on the federal dime.

The Conservative Party spent the life of the last parliament hammering the Liberals on themes of corruption and entitlement. Mr. Pallister was not exactly a shrinking wallflower in these endeavours. With their slim minority win, the Conservatives now have an opportunity to demonstrate to Canadians how they will do things differently. They must not only be ethical in their approach, they must also be seen and perceived as such.

Mistakes will happen, that is inevitable. It is how those mistakes are handled that will determine the fate of the party. We have watched thirteen years worth of examples of how not to do it. Now is the time to lead by example, not follow previous ones.

The new government has not even been sworn in yet and Brian Pallister has given Stephen Harper his first "entitlement" moment. Federal taxpayers are paying Pallister's salary to respresent the constituents of Portage-Lisgar, not tour the Province of Manitoba seeking a new constituency.

Send the assistant packing, take an un-paid leave of absence (if possible) and pay for your own aspirations.

Spanky for Prime Minister?