Not even a flood can stop the great game of politics. As soon as the magnitude of the Red River flooding became apparent, politicians of all stripes took advantage of it.
Some smugly announced they were not going to indulge in partisan campaigning while flood relief efforts are under way. The announcements, of course, were self-interested political statements.
Others used the flood to once again condemn prime minister Jean ChrŽtien for his premature election. But ChrŽtien’s decision was made neither better nor worse by the fact of flooding. The election call, which halted many would-be pieces of legislation, was still a partisan political act.
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The governing Liberals predictably announced that there would be flood aid – they would have been tarred and feathered if there hadn’t been – and then rushed through a $25-million cheque to serve as a prop in a photo opportunity.
Predictably, Reform leader Preston Manning accused the Liberals of playing politics with the flood. Just as he was doing by making the accusation.
Such are the inevitable follies of a Canadian election campaign. Politicians would not be politicians if they did not try to wring every possible advantage out of any situation.
The electorate, meanwhile, has few ways to show its disapproval of such behavior. If people become fed up with one politician, their only legal remedy is to try to elect another politician.
But there is a better idea. The Reform party is offering voters the equivalent of a money-back guarantee.
Their propaganda accurately proclaims: “These days, people put little or no faith in the promises of politicians. And for good reason. Every time an election campaign comes around, so do the politicians, making all kinds of promises that are almost sure to be broken when no longer convenient.”
So what else is new?
Well, for one thing, Reform is proposing that voters have a right to recall their elected representatives: “We will give you the right to fire any one of our MPs if they do not do what they say they are going to do.”
Now that’s an offer that’s hard to refuse. It would have enabled Manitoba farmers, for example, to recall Reform MP Jake Hoeppner and bring an end to his embarrassing conspiracy theories about the wheat board.
And the people of Shawinigan could have expressed their displeasure over the sight of their representative choking an innocuous demonstrator.
The prospect is delicious.
Now all we have to do is get the other parties to steal this idea.
