Here is a good column about Bernard Lord in today's Telegraph.
NB Telegraph-Journal | Guest Commentaries As published on page A10 on November 19, 2005
A political fable: the premier who lost his way
Click to zoom (Chuck Brown/Telegraph-Journal) Premier Bernard Lord needs to reverse the downward spiral he finds himself in, but critics suggest that action has never been his strong suit. JOHN McNAIR COMMENTARY
Remember the fable about the fox and the grapes? After repeatedly trying in vain to grab the grapes off the vine, the fox gives up and walks away saying that the grapes were sour anyway. This same line was trotted out by Premier Bernard Lord after his party's massive defeat in the Saint John Harbour byelection.
The premier's brain trust concocted an elaborate plan to create a vacancy in the legislature, recruit a "star" candidate and call a snap byelection to win Saint John Harbour and bolster the premier's dwindling fortunes in the province and in the legislature. The desire to win was strong, as demonstrated by the constant presence of Tory cabinet ministers, executive and special assistants and Tory party staffers throughout the riding as well as a series of funding announcements (mostly recycled) totalling $50 million. After being outpolled two to one by Dr. Ed Doherty and the Liberals in Monday's byelection vote, the premier told the media that they really weren't expecting to win and really weren't disappointed by the loss. Talk about sour grapes!
We know that there was more at stake in this byelection than who would get an additional seat in the legislature. Mr. Lord desperately needed a victory, not only to add to his slim majority and keep his federal leadership hopes alive, but to show that he was capable of reversing the trend of bad news that has rightly attached itself to his sadly ineffective administration.
Whether it is declining poll numbers, ministers being forced to resign because of improper conduct, fruitless battles with Ottawa or a caucus that is getting increasingly restless with the premier's inability to lead or make a decision on anything that really matters, the Lord government is slowly but surely acquiring the stench of impending defeat that plagued Mr. Lord's mentor, Brian Mulroney, in 1992 or Richard Hatfield in 1987.
As they say in the public relations world, Mr. Lord has problems with his "brand." In the first years of his administration, it appeared that Mr. Lord could do no wrong. He charmed the policy wonks, the backrooms and party grassroots alike. He had brought together the fractured coalition of voters who had supported the Progressive Conservatives in the past and even made new inroads for his party into francophone areas of our province. However, as the results of the 2003 election proved, he was unable to build on his early momentum. He now leads a "brand" that is in decline.
Of course, in the private sector, there are many options available to a company that sees its major brand taking a nose dive. They might decide that the essentials of the brand are still valid and all that is needed is repackaging or revitalizing its image. They may need to seek out new markets or develop new product lines (they've already tried Bernie's PC Lite in its all-style, no calories format). Or, in the most drastic case, it may be time to ditch the brand altogether or, at the very least, the brand managers. Unfortunately for Bernard Lord, rebranding the PC Party as "Team Lord" has already reached the end of its shelf life.
If we continue with this analogy, we also find that the less popular national or federal "brand" is having a negative impact on the provincial "brand." A survey of New Brunswickers conducted for the National Post in June, showed that Stephen Harper and the federal Conservatives are more of a burden on the provincial Tories than the federal Liberals are, with all their Gomery woes, for Shawn Graham and the provincial Grits. With Mr. Harper and his national brand managers determined to embark on an unpopular Christmas election campaign, the provincial brand may suffer even more.
All of Bernard Lord's "brand managers'" eyes will undoubtedly be on the results from the next Corporate Research Associates provincial survey, due out later this month, to what impact that recent events are having on Premier Lord and his tattered government. Funnily enough, it seems that even after having the purest form of poll conducted, the actual vote on election day, it seems the message doesn't get through to this Tory government.
Of course, the premier is not powerless. He has won two elections. It is in the realm of possibility that, Saint John Harbour aside, he could reverse the downward spiral that he finds himself in. He could restructure cabinet to bring in some new talent and move aside worn-out ministers who will not be standing for re-election. He could give his office a much needed shake-up and also give greater influence to staff who do more than inflate this premier's notoriously leaky ego. He could tackle the long-overdue shuffle of deputy ministers instead of relying on stand-ins and temporary assignments. He could begin to sort through the piles of files stacked on desk tops in the Privy Council office that are gathering dust waiting for a decision to be made. The fact is, the premier needs to do something, but unfortunately for New Brunswickers, he is unlikely to do anything.
The premier will do what he has always done. Rather than taking action and doing what needs to be done, he will walk away. Those grapes were probably sour anyway.
4 comments:
This is bull.
This bull is haunting Bernard Lord. People are fed up with him. They cannot take him anymore.
Bye bye Bernie. Your time has come. Stop screwing around the province.
Here is a good column about Bernard Lord in today's Telegraph.
NB Telegraph-Journal | Guest Commentaries
As published on page A10 on November 19, 2005
A political fable: the premier who lost his way
Click to zoom (Chuck Brown/Telegraph-Journal)
Premier Bernard Lord needs to reverse the downward spiral he finds himself in, but critics suggest that action has never been his strong suit.
JOHN McNAIR
COMMENTARY
Remember the fable about the fox and the grapes? After repeatedly trying in vain to grab the grapes off the vine, the fox gives up and walks away saying that the grapes were sour anyway. This same line was trotted out by Premier Bernard Lord after his party's massive defeat in the Saint John Harbour byelection.
The premier's brain trust concocted an elaborate plan to create a vacancy in the legislature, recruit a "star" candidate and call a snap byelection to win Saint John Harbour and bolster the premier's dwindling fortunes in the province and in the legislature. The desire to win was strong, as demonstrated by the constant presence of Tory cabinet ministers, executive and special assistants and Tory party staffers throughout the riding as well as a series of funding announcements (mostly recycled) totalling $50 million. After being outpolled two to one by Dr. Ed Doherty and the Liberals in Monday's byelection vote, the premier told the media that they really weren't expecting to win and really weren't disappointed by the loss. Talk about sour grapes!
We know that there was more at stake in this byelection than who would get an additional seat in the legislature. Mr. Lord desperately needed a victory, not only to add to his slim majority and keep his federal leadership hopes alive, but to show that he was capable of reversing the trend of bad news that has rightly attached itself to his sadly ineffective administration.
Whether it is declining poll numbers, ministers being forced to resign because of improper conduct, fruitless battles with Ottawa or a caucus that is getting increasingly restless with the premier's inability to lead or make a decision on anything that really matters, the Lord government is slowly but surely acquiring the stench of impending defeat that plagued Mr. Lord's mentor, Brian Mulroney, in 1992 or Richard Hatfield in 1987.
As they say in the public relations world, Mr. Lord has problems with his "brand." In the first years of his administration, it appeared that Mr. Lord could do no wrong. He charmed the policy wonks, the backrooms and party grassroots alike. He had brought together the fractured coalition of voters who had supported the Progressive Conservatives in the past and even made new inroads for his party into francophone areas of our province. However, as the results of the 2003 election proved, he was unable to build on his early momentum. He now leads a "brand" that is in decline.
Of course, in the private sector, there are many options available to a company that sees its major brand taking a nose dive. They might decide that the essentials of the brand are still valid and all that is needed is repackaging or revitalizing its image. They may need to seek out new markets or develop new product lines (they've already tried Bernie's PC Lite in its all-style, no calories format). Or, in the most drastic case, it may be time to ditch the brand altogether or, at the very least, the brand managers. Unfortunately for Bernard Lord, rebranding the PC Party as "Team Lord" has already reached the end of its shelf life.
If we continue with this analogy, we also find that the less popular national or federal "brand" is having a negative impact on the provincial "brand." A survey of New Brunswickers conducted for the National Post in June, showed that Stephen Harper and the federal Conservatives are more of a burden on the provincial Tories than the federal Liberals are, with all their Gomery woes, for Shawn Graham and the provincial Grits. With Mr. Harper and his national brand managers determined to embark on an unpopular Christmas election campaign, the provincial brand may suffer even more.
All of Bernard Lord's "brand managers'" eyes will undoubtedly be on the results from the next Corporate Research Associates provincial survey, due out later this month, to what impact that recent events are having on Premier Lord and his tattered government. Funnily enough, it seems that even after having the purest form of poll conducted, the actual vote on election day, it seems the message doesn't get through to this Tory government.
Of course, the premier is not powerless. He has won two elections. It is in the realm of possibility that, Saint John Harbour aside, he could reverse the downward spiral that he finds himself in. He could restructure cabinet to bring in some new talent and move aside worn-out ministers who will not be standing for re-election. He could give his office a much needed shake-up and also give greater influence to staff who do more than inflate this premier's notoriously leaky ego. He could tackle the long-overdue shuffle of deputy ministers instead of relying on stand-ins and temporary assignments. He could begin to sort through the piles of files stacked on desk tops in the Privy Council office that are gathering dust waiting for a decision to be made. The fact is, the premier needs to do something, but unfortunately for New Brunswickers, he is unlikely to do anything.
The premier will do what he has always done. Rather than taking action and doing what needs to be done, he will walk away. Those grapes were probably sour anyway.
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