Recently tagged Kathy Dunderdale

In politics, even the smallest gesture can trigger a round-the-circle gossip and speculation. In other words, something may appear to be an indication of something more important … but it might also, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, just be “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Then again, that didn’t stop us in the newsroom from noticing what Kathy Dunderdale had to say last Thursday about Stephen Harper, and also how she said it.

It was in the house of assembly, and Dunderdale - who did not join members of her caucus that morning for a rally with Harper at the Kraft Hockeyville-winning Robert French Memorial Stadium - was being asked to comment on Harper’s commitment to 5 Wing Goose Bay.

“Mr. Harper is in Newfoundland today, I suggest you go and have a chat with him and find out what his commitment is and what he has to say, because nobody over here has to answer for Mr. Harper,” Dunderdale told Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones.

“We answer for the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Progressive Conservative Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The word “Progressive” is emphasized in that sentence because in each instance, Dunderdale put her heart right into it. There was absolutely no mistaking it.

It certainly seemed to be a striking thing to emphasize, given that Harper by that point had only just left provincial airspace.

The gesture came on the heels, though, of an NTV poll (albeit one with a small sample size, a large margin of error and a very large undecided component) that indicated the Conservatives are in a real fight to win just one seat on May 2.

As one of my politically connected friends put (and he’s of the PC persuasion, for what it’s worth), Dunderdale may not get over that image of her smiling with Harper during that invite-only March 31 rally at the Delta hotel in St. John’s.

So, is Dunderdale distancing herself from Harper?

Maybe. But she may also be clarifying things. Dunderdale made a point just last month of leaving the door open to an ABC campaign at some point in the future.

As well, the rest of her comments to Jones in the house of assembly last Thursday are worth noting.

Here’s the transcript, as recorded in Hansard:

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is so concerned with our relationship with Prime Minister Harper. I suggest to her that she pay a little bit more attention to her own federal leader, Mr. Ignatieff, who wants to delay timelines on the JSS project so Davie Shipyard in Quebec could be included. Competition against Marystown, Mr. Speaker, not a word - not a word, Mr. Speaker -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ignatieff who is prepared to do a coalition with the Bloc Québécois who will certainly put the gears to Muskrat Falls and any -

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

PREMIER DUNDERDALE: - other kind of development on the Churchill River. Mr. Speaker, in terms of Labrador, our government’s commitment to the people of that region of our Province has been exemplary, Mr. Speaker; more investment in Labrador in the last eight years than there has been in the former twenty-five.

There you have it. We can see that Dunderdale is the leader of a separate party with a different name (and that the word “Progressive” is really important), but she also will echo the key speaking point for the Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador in the final stretch of the campaign.