Provincial Politics – Page 140

You have to admire a guy who gives it a shot. You admire it even if the shot is by a neo-conservative such as MPP Frank Klees. Frank has decided to take a run at the Speaker’s job at Queen’s Park. It is an interesting career direction but obviously a swan song for his role as heir-apparent to provincial Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.

Heir-apparents to losers become losers themselves. Think back to Kim Campbell following Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister or Ernie Eves chasing Mike Harris as Premier of Ontario. Nobody gave a damn about their credentials or differences from their predecessors. They carried the can for them.

And nobody would want to deliberately carry the can for Tim Hudak. Besides, Frank Klees is seven years older than Tim. And Tim is unlikely to retire tomorrow. The math does not work in Frank’s favour.

Tim Hudak has reason to be annoyed with Klees as his defection to the speaker’s job will effectively make the Legislature a draw. If Klees is elected Speaker, it would mean 53 Liberals on the Speaker’s right and 53 Conservative and NDP members on the Speaker’s left. While the Speaker only votes in case of a tie, the Speaker has limited options.

The good news is that Frank Klees would make an excellent speaker. He can bring a degree of fairness and experience to the Speaker’s chair better than Liberal contenders for the job. There are four Liberals also reaching for the brass ring. Of the four, David Zimmer, MPP for Willowdale, is probably best qualified for the job.

Frank Klees has been in the Ontario Legislature the longest of all present candidates and probably has the best understanding of the role of the Speaker of the House. He will obviously enjoy the perquisites of the Speaker as well as the higher pay. Given a good report card by all parties in the next four years, he might even have the opportunity to return as Speaker if re-elected in the next election. Otherwise, he can return to the business world, with a nice pension from the Ontario Legislature later on.

It must be one of those times when Premier Dalton McGuinty regrets the increased democracy in the Legislature. Until 1990, the Speaker was chosen by the Premier in consultation with the leaders of the other parties. Now the Speaker is elected by all members by secret ballot. The secret ballot is the kicker because it will do no good for Tim Hudak to tell his Conservatives not to vote for Klees. It could be just a half dozen Tory supporters that could put him over the top.

-30-

Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]

If you were surfing, trying to find a rerun from the Charlie Sheen Two and a Half Men series around seven last night, you might have come across a new version of the show. This one features a lady named Andrea Horwath in the Charlie Sheen role. A prissy chap named Dalton was playing the amiable side-kick role of Allan Harper while an aging adolescent Tiny Tim struggled with the fat, dumb kid persona. As a political debate, it had little to recommend it.

Ontario deserves better. Mind you, NDP leader Andrea Horwath looked spiffy—a great hair do, good make-up job, nice dress, discreet jewellery—all spoiled by one of those trade-mark manish suit jackets.

For sartorial yuck, you could hardly beat Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s tie. It must have been his daughter’s choice. We now know the kid’s problem is not her parentage. She is color blind.

It was Premier Dalton McGuinty’s role to look like suitable premier material. And he did until those other two started to beat the crap out of him.

Horwath surprised everybody with her performance. That nice lady can also be mean and bitchy. Her remarks about pumping beer in North Bay sure did not do much for her trying to look like a premier.

It was everyone jumps on Dalton night. Horwath was snide about his no-show at some Northern debate and Hudak was calling him a liar.

Dalton got in a good one on Tiny Tim about calling new Canadians foreigners but Tim denied it despite anyone who watches television news having heard him.

The three of them proved to be really bad communicators. The people who prepped them for the show should all be shot. Shotgun delivery of statistics is meaningless. They did better with anecdotal stuff but what Andrea’s 18-year old son was doing on a skateboard is a good question.

Dalton actually smiled when he gave an aside to Andrea about her brother or someone getting a job at Honda. Other than that one human moment, he is still in need of a personality transplant.

Tiny Tim came across as a bobble-head doll with a tape recorder up its rear. He just bobbled along in his own weird right-wing world, spouting inanities.

By the time the show was over, we decided that it was a form of self-abuse that we did not need. Anyway, we voted last week.

-30-

Complaints, comments, criticisms and comments can be sent to [email protected]

Category: Provincial Politics

Klees clutches for the brass ring.

Ontario sinks to new lows in debate.