 |
Williams’
majority a blessing The people of Newfoundland and Labrador aren't exactly a hasty bunch when it comes to changing government. We've only done it twice in 54 years since joining Canada. Joey Smallwood ruled this place for its first 23 years as a province. And in 1971 and 1972 it took two elections before Frank Moores and his Progressive Conservatives were finally able to throw Smallwood out of office. Moores' victory sparked a 17-year Tory dynasty that didn't end until Tom Rideout lost the government to Clyde Wells. Even then, Rideout won the popular vote, but Wells won the government. Whopping win All of which makes Danny Williams' victory on Tuesday even more impressive. Williams and his slate of PC candidates didn't just defeat the Liberals, they destroyed them. On election night Liberals were dropping like characters in an Agatha Christie novel. The final result was a whopping 34 seats for the PCs, 12 for the Liberals and two for the NDP. In terms of popular vote, it wasn't even close. The Conservatives won 57 per cent of the vote compared with 33 per cent for the Liberals. The NDP, as usual, toiled in single digits. The size of this victory has to be gratifying for the Conservative leader. But Williams now faces two very real problems. The first is matching the enormous expectations voters have placed on his shoulders. Williams was careful to avoid making outlandish promises in this campaign. But the electorate was looking for a leader who was part saviour, part benefactor and they believe they have found it in Williams. Smaller cabinet from bigger caucus The second problem is caucus management. This may take a while to surface, but it will eventually. Williams has promised to shrink the cabinet from its current size of 19. He won't say exactly how big his cabinet will be, but 14 would be a good guess. Certain Tory veterans – such as Ed Byrne, Loyola Sullivan, and Tom Rideout – are locks for cabinet seats. But Williams has handpicked or recruited others who will also warrant a cabinet post. Elizabeth Marshall the former auditor general will play a senior role. So will Trevor Taylor, who smashed the 51-year Liberal stranglehold on the Northern Peninsula in a byelection and is a clear favourite of Williams. Once you start counting, it doesn't take long to get up to 14 seats. And when you do that you see a long list of people who won't be taking the ministerial oath of office. Williams can either have a larger cabinet than he wanted. Or he can leave several recognizable names on the outside. That's when the grumbling starts. It’s a sad reality of politics that once a party wins government, the definition of winning changes from a collective win to an individual win. Williams has to manage this well, or he could find his political agenda derailed by internal squabbling.
|
|
 |
||
|
|
||
    |
   |
 |
|
|
|
