Andrew Scheer should have left his job on the night he lost the last election. Instead, he has insisted on hanging around. His long goodbye has been excruciating. Bob Hepburn writes:
Since losing last October’s federal election, Scheer has been at the centre of a series of self-inflicted controversies that shine light on why former prime minister Stephen Harper never considered him for a senior cabinet post.
Scheer’s latest mess surfaced this week when he revealed in a CTV interview that he no longer is seeking to renounce his U.S. citizenship. “Given the fact that I won’t be prime minister, I discontinued the process,” he subsequently told reporters. During the election Scheer ran into a storm of controversy when it was discovered he had dual citizenship, but had not told anyone.
But there have been lots of other gaffes and guffaws:
They include his Trump-like criticism of the World Health Organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His failure to denounce Tory MP Derek Sloan for accusing Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, of being disloyal to Canada and of working for China.
The revelation that even party executives didn’t know he’d arranged a deal for the party to pay for his children to go to a private school.
His unfounded charges that Justin Trudeau is letting “fraudsters” and “criminals” abuse federal aid programs for people out of work because of the pandemic.
In short, Scheer gives the impression that his opposition to Trudeau is deeply personal -- period. And the longer Scheer hangs around, the more Trudeau and the Liberals will benefit.
Image: twitter.com
