Svend quits

He won't be running in the next federal election, despite finally having a leader I assumed would be sufficiently left-wing. Maybe he wants to move to Ramallah and become a full-time human shield for Arafat.

Whatever. Just as long as he no longer has any political power whatsoever. (An NDP backbencher isn't a powerful position, but it's still a vote.)

Update: there's even more to this than I initially thought. Robinson admitted to stealing a ring from an auction house, and claims the incident was brought on by intolerable stress:

He told a news conference he's been suffering from severe stress and emotional pain and "something just snapped" before he took the jewelry at a sale last Friday.

After the long weekend he attempted unsuccessfully to contact the owner of the jewelry. He then returned the ring through the police.

"As you can imagine this has been a nightmare. I cannot believe that it has happened, but I am human and I have failed."

Robinson said the theft is in the hands of the police and Crown counsel.
[...]
Robinson said he is receiving professional medical help for stress brought on in part by the emotional consequences of a nearly fatal hiking accident.

"I look forward to full healing and recovery with the excellent professional assistance I am receiving."

Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting me to make a cheap joke about Robinson's predicament, but I really feel sorry for the guy. I've seen what stress and depression can do to a person. I've been there. I sincerely hope Svend gets the help he needs, and he deserves credit for coming clean about this incident.

I will not be offering any eulogies for his political career, however. Robinson has spent his time in office defending Fidel Castro and Yasser Arafat (both of whom would have him locked up and killed, respectively, for being gay), demonizing the United States, opposing any response to 9/11 short of giving in Al-Qaida's "grievances", promoting "hate-crimes" laws and speech codes, and acting so self-righteous he wouldn't even shake Stockwell Day's hand. And then there were incidents like these:

He once tried to out gay MP Scott Brison by falsely stating at a news conference that Brison would second Robinson's private member's bill legalizing same-sex marriage. Brison's local newspaper, the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, ran the story on its front page, only to have Brison respond he had nothing to do with the bill and had never been contacted by Robinson.

In 2001, Robinson was ridiculed in the Commons after complaining that a police rubber bullet had torn his pants during demonstrations at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. Robinson later launched a lawsuit against the RCMP and the National Post newspaper over the incident and its public belittlement.

He was demoted from his international affairs critic's role two years ago after travelling to the West Bank, staging his own televised detention at an Israeli checkpoint as he attempted to visit PLO leader Yasser Arafat and then accusing the Israeli military of murder and torture.

"I plead guilty. Yes, I am taking sides," Robinson said then.

"I am taking the side of peace over war. I am taking the side of the oppressed over the oppressor."

I wish Svend well. Really, I do. But I hope he doesn't attempt a comeback.

Posted by damian at April 15, 2004 02:05 PM