Friday, November 06, 2009

On perpetual campaigns

So what can we take away from the Sask Party's announcement that just halfway through its mandate, it's already making the 2011 election its main focus? From my standpoint, there are two crucial points worth mentioning.

First, it said enough about the weakness of the Sask Party's caucus when Wall named Bill Boyd as Minister for Everything the Government Cares About. But apparently Wall's opinion of the rest of the Sask Party's supporters isn't any higher, as he's now piling party responsibilities onto Boyd as well.

The choice of Boyd over not only his caucus-mates but also party staff and community supporters suggests that however much money the Sask Party is able to bring in, its list of members Brad Wall trusts to carry out any task more complex than tying their own shoes consists of exactly one name.

That leads nicely to the second point, as Wall seems to have sent a clear signal as to his party's focus for the next two years - and it's hardly one that figures to play well with the public.

Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first time I'm aware of a governing party explicitly starting its re-election campaign this early. And that timing is especially striking in light of everything else that's already on Boyd's plate.

At a point in time when Boyd's departments are supposed to be making major decisions over the course of the next few months, Wall apparently figures Boyd's time is better spent on the politics of getting elected two years down the road than on actually governing in the meantime. And that order of priorities should raise a serious question for Saskatchewan citizens as to whether or not they're satisfied with a half-time government.

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