Can Harper stand the heat?
CTV reports that Stephen Harper may snub the annual press gallery dinner.
Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Perhaps Harper is worried about a made-in-Canada version of Stephen Colbert's biting speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. And after all, it's easier to ban the media or cherry-pick questions than to be forced to listen to their criticism.
Given how uncomfortable the PM looked when the Trailer Park Boys talked to him on the East Coast Music Awards, I'd love to see how he'd react to the press gallery speeches, now that he's on the hot seat.
"The prime minister may snub the annual Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner this fall, a move he's considering in order to register his displeasure with an ongoing disagreement his office has with Parliament Hill journalists over the way his press conferences ought to be conducted."
"...many Conservative MPs and nearly all cabinet ministers are expected not to attend the dinner to show solidarity with their boss." (CTV News)
Technorati tags: Stephen Harper, politics, conservative, press gallery, Canada, Colbert
Posted in: politics on May 18, 2006
Wow, you can't get much more stuck up than that. When even Bush has more grace [although he might make up an excuse or war next year to get out of it after the floggin' he got], you have to wonder about Harper.
I know, isn't that crazy?! At least Bush sat through it (no one expected him to look happy). Harper's being the equivalent of a whiny child who doesn't want to go to a birthday party because he's afraid the other kids will pick on him.
In all due respect, the PGD is a complete waste of time. I attended it back in 2000 and it is nothing more than a drinkoff for journalist who don't get out much. Oh yeah, i forgot, you live in Freddy...land of the lushes!! lol Well, OK, it wasn't all that bad, especially given that the beer was so cheap. But I can understand why Trudeau, and maybe Harper, would boycott the event.
If Harper were boycotting it for personal reasons (e.g. excessive media intrusion into his private life), I could understand that, and I'd actually respect his decision, but he just seems to be planning this boycott (months in advance, even) to flex his muscles.
These ongoing spats with the media resulting in government bans just seem so childish.
Oh, are we lushes in Fredericton? lol - I wasn't aware of that reputation.