Late last week, the Liberal Party issued a statement about the flood damage in Manitoba, expressing condolences for some fatalities in the south.
They had some details wrong and quickly withdrew the statement to issue a corrected version.
In the swirl of election political statements, it was a minor gaffe barely worth noticing.
Yet it also was a reminder of the perils of politicians trying to make hay from natural disasters.
Voters in the midst of the crisis are understandably touchy about someone trying to score points on the backs of their crisis.
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This election, flooding and water issues are endemic across the southern Prairies and north of Winnipeg. Homes are swamped, First Nations reserves are being evacuated and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland are lying in water and possibly out of the queue for spring seeding or pasturing.
Yet politicians have been careful to steer clear of gratuitous photographs in the affected areas, showing how much they care.
Political planners learned from 1997, the last Red River “Flood of the Century” and the scene of one of the most ill-considered photo ops in recent memory.
Jean Chrétien, a majority Liberal prime minister, decided to trigger an election less than four years into his mandate because he thought he could win.
The spring election call happened to coincide with the Red River flood in Manitoba and it was so bad that voting in the Provencher riding south of Winnipeg was postponed so people there could concentrate on fighting the surging water.
The riding, as it turns out, was the last Liberal rural seat on the Prairies.
David Iftody held it and the Liberal decision to call a premature election in the midst of a disaster was not going down well with his voters.
Chrétien visited Manitoba and his handlers thought it would be a good idea to show that the prime minister cared.
Iftody said later he asked the prime minister to stay away but the PMO brain trust knew better.
There was the photograph of a smiling Jean Chrétien throwing a sandbag before heading out to some drier spot.
The Liberal candidate won the delayed Provencher election but his margin was cut in half. He blamed some of that on what seemed like political opportunism.
In 2000, the last rural Prairie Liberal seat fell to the Alliance/Conservatives.
This election, political planners seem to have absorbed the message.
Voice appropriate flood concerns from afar but unless you plan to stay the day stacking sandbags and sweating a bit, don’t show up for a photo op.
