Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Blessed relief

by Aaron Wherry on Friday, June 19, 2009 12:06pm - 3 Comments

Andrew Steele considers this week’s turn of events.

The blame for the conduct of all Parliaments falls on its first minister, as they typically reflect his personality. Just as in St. Laurent’s era the Commons was sleep and business-oriented, or in Diefenbaker’s it was mercurial and increasingly unstable, Harper’s Parliaments are growing increasingly obsessed with tactical advantage with no regard to long-term outcome. So it is a blessed relief to have something productive and positive emerge that demonstrates there is still an ability to come down off the Parliament Hill pedestals and move files forward in a thoughtful way.

Tags: house of commons, John Diefenbaker, Louis St. Laurent, Michael Ignatieff, Ottawa, Parliament, Stephen Harper

More by Aaron Wherry

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

The blame for the conduct of all Parliaments falls on its first minister, as they typically reflect his personality.

Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn't the blame for the conduct of Parliament fall on all the Parliamentarians, not just one guy?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Thwim Thwim

To some degree, yes.
To a large degree, the character of any organization is reflective of the character of its leader(s).
Why?

FIrst, because the leader sets the agenda, and that will naturally follow their own inclinations.

Second, most people are followers. It sounds badly when put that way, but it is one of the characteristics that makes our civil society possible. In all walks of life, most people take their cues how to act from those around them, tending to defer to someone who appears to be taking responsibility/authority.

This also explains why it's important to not be afraid to act first if you see what you think might be a crisis situation. Even though others around you may not be acting does not mean that the situation isn't a bad one, just that nobody's taken the lead yet. It can be hard to remember that at the time though, as you tend to (naturally) think, if it was really as bad as I think, somebody would be acting on it.

John W.

In connection with the Prime Minister's influence on the tone and level of personal animosity in Parliament, do any of the reporters know whether any Conservative backbencher due to pride, a sense of self worth, a refusal to be demeaned, refused or even balked at reading the PMO generated endless, childish repetitive attacks against Ignatieff in Member's Statements a time in Parliament?
The change of tone in this segment of the Commons schedule really shows the toxic effect Harper has had on Parliament.
When they stand up and read these statements, often with difficulty, any sense of respect you could have for these members just evaporates.