Inside Politics

MinisterialEventWatch: A word of advice for the PMO TalkingPointster General

by Kady O'Malley Posted: January 25, 2010 4:39 PM Last Updated: January 25, 2010 5:42 PM
Oh, PMO. What have you done? Did you really think this new strategy through to its logical conclusion? 

Don't get me wrong: I totally get -- and appreciate, even -- the itinerary that you sent to Hill reporters earlier today as proof that Conservative ministers and backbenchers alike -- are, not, in fact, on vacation (well, most of them) at all, but are hard at work: hosting international humanitarian aid conferences, unveiling exciting new community investments, consulting with constituents over Economic Action! Plan-themed roundtables -- earning their keep and then some, in other words. Meanwhile, opposition leaders and MPs persist in ignoring the very real, entirely unprorogation-related priorities of ordinary Canadians to assemble outside an empty House of Commons to pose for the cameras. 

Which, of course, is exactly the right message to send to Canadians on the nonmomentous non-occasion of January 25, 2010, but here's the potential headache-in-the-making, from your perspective: By making available such a comprehensive list of upcoming events, you've officially set a precedent, for the next few weeks, at least: Every morning -- or, at least, every morning from now until March 3, we'll be expecting an updated list to be sent out -- whether directly to the media, or via the inevitably leaked PMO Info-Alerte wire.  

Remember last fall, when the Liberals decided to start holding daily mid-morning media availabilities with the leader, or whatever critics were taking the lead on the main issue of the day? And how it worked brilliantly right up until the day that the party found themselves less than keen on the prospect of holding a free and frank exchange of pointed questions and halting non-answers with the ever eager members of the fourth estate -- but if they pulled the plug on the now expected briefing, it would be an admission that something had gone wrong. (I seem to recall that, in this particular instance, that moment of horrible epiphany coincided with a burst of Outremont-related internal party melodramatics, but I could be mixing that up with another media relations mishap from the Pre-DonOLO Era (PDE)). 

Anyway, the same logic applies here: there will, almost certainly, come a day when, for whatever reason, there's just not much happening on the ministerial circuit, let alone in the ridings. Which means you can either skip a day, and hope nobody notices (someone will), or put one out anyway, and be ready to explain to any reporters who question the comparative lack of busyness that sometimes, ministers -- and, indeed, MPs -- work in mysterious ways, on extremely important tasks that can't, for whatever reason, necessarily be summed up in one line of a press release.  

Tags: blackberry jungle, here to help!, pmo talking points