I rarely use this blog

I rarely use this blog to comment on Newfoundland politics, but it appears we're in for a major political shift out here. The Liberals have been in power since 1989 (under Clyde Wells, Slick Brian and Roger Grimes), but they've lost a string of by-elections since Grimes took over the party leadership. And now, four cabinet ministers have suddenly decided not to run in the next election.

Any government can lose a minister or two before a provincial election comes up, but when four of them decide to jump ship at the same time, you know the government is headed for catastrophic defeat. That said, Tory leader Danny Williams shouldn't get too cocky. A lot of people here on the West Coast are furious about his refusal to let Ron Dawe run as a PC candidiate in the next election. Many say this is because Dawe once served as a cabinet minister during the reign of Brian Peckford, the premier best known for spending over $20 million in taxpayers' money on a hydroponic cucumber greenhouse (I am not making this up), and that Williams wants to keep his party far, far away from that dubious legacy. But another former Peckford minister, Tom Rideout, will almost certainly serve in a Williams cabinet, so maybe Williams's feud with Dawe relates to some kind of personal dispute. Nobody really knows, and Williams isn't telling. And when you're promising a more "open" style of leadership, that doesn't look good.

I still think the Tories are going to win (I'll certainly be voting for them) but it's not a sure thing, and I hope Williams realizes that.

Posted by damian at February 14, 2003 10:57 PM