In 1974, Ralph Goodale was a 24-year-old Saskatchewan law graduate with a year’s experience as a Parliament Hill aide and a hankering for politics.
An election was the inevitable end to a minority Parliament and the young Liberal and disciple of Saskatchewan’s only Liberal MP, Otto Lang, wondered if and where he should run.
The province, outside of Lang’s Saskatoon seat, was a Liberal wasteland.
Goodale was considering a run in the Assiniboia riding held by a New Democrat but it had almost no Liberal history since the 1940 election.
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But a 27-year-old Liberal aide convinced him to take the plunge and Goodale won by more than 1,000 votes – a Liberal landslide in those parts.
It was a one-term wonder for Goodale but since 1993, he has become a seven-term MP and a Liberal stalwart on Parliament Hill.
The young aide who encouraged him, Jerry Yanover, went on to become the key Liberal parliamentary strategist for four decades. He knew the arcane rules of the House, advising Liberal leaders and House leaders on how to play the game. His advice was key in some of the great political stories of the past four decades.
When Yanover died in late July at age 62, the Liberals lost a wealth of corporate memory, tactical brilliance and party history.
“While most Canadians likely don’t know Mr. Yanover’s name, he served his country with dedication over the course of 40 years working for four prime ministers and six Liberal leaders,” current leader Michael Ignatieff said in a statement honouring Yanover.
For reporters, he was the guy to call for expert advice on what to expect during the next parliamentary showdown or what the opposition could do tactically to block some government agricultural initiative.
He knew the rules and the precedents.
Yanover’s passing offers a chance to reflect on the importance that the backroom people have in politics.
Likewise, last week’s announcement that prime minister Stephen Harper’s chief communications adviser and former Saskatchewan farm boy Kory Teneycke is resigning reminds political watchers of the importance of those who craft strategies, policies and messages.
Harper, not renowned for his love of media, was well served by Teneycke, who gave the prime minister’s office message machine a friendlier, more accessible face.
In this summer of suspended political animation, the politicians have largely become invisible outside their own ridings.
But with Ignatieff toughening his threats about an autumn election, it is the season when the backroom people are working hard, assessing the popular mood, crafting appealing messages and looking for opponents’ vulnerabilities.
The average voter would have no reason to know these folks but their decisions, advice, research, instincts and conclusions are a major part of how our political universe unfolds.
Many see backroom operatives as cynical manipulators and for certain, many of their judgments and counsels are based on cynical, opportunistic calculations.
But they also are a key part of what keeps our political system functioning and our democracy going.
The loss of experience, skill and political memory always leaves a vacuum.
