It isn't a Quebec phenomenon, it is part and parcel of our democracy, the British Parliamentary system of government.
For politicians in opposition, it's a make-believe world, where what you say and do makes no difference or never-mind, and where with the passage of time, the irrelevancy of it all either wears you down into a cynical wretch or turns you into a zombie-like creature disconnected from reality, living in a fantasy world.
Listening to the Utopian drivel that spouts from the mouths of Thomas Mulcair and his gang of Ndp career bench-warmers, the constant gratuitous bellyaching, nit-picking and outright distortions, is enough to turn ones stomach, but alas its part of the game.
Mulcair hasn't been there long, but already displays the classic symptoms of 'oppositionitis,' his latest irresponsible outburst, the unfounded and contemptuous claim that rail deregulation, instituted by the Conservatives, was a contributing factor in the Lac-Megantic train wreck disaster.
When faced with the evidence that the incidence of train wrecks has actually gone down since deregulation, Mulcair did the honorable thing and denied ever having made the assertion.
Nobody paid much mind to his gaffe, at best it received a condescending chuckle in the Press, because what Mulcair and the Ndp think or say affects our lives not a whit.
It's a pet theory of mine, that long bouts in opposition render politicians unfit for power, their minds permanently hobbled by the numbing forces of obscurity and irrelevancy, where imaginary battles long fought, make real ones impossible to face.
God help Canada if the NDP ever attained power.
I cannot imagine the harm that the arrogant (Do you know who I am!) Mulcair, abetted by the insufferable Libby Davis and the likes of the injudicious and nasty Pat Martin could cause.
Wait a second!
I can imagine what it would be like to suffer under an Ndp government.... We've got our own not-ready-for-prime-time gang of PQ fools wreaking havoc here in Quebec, right now!
And what glorious and destructive havoc it is!
I'm not sure why pundits expected from Pauline Marois' motley crew of amateurs, I wrote about the inevitable disaster to be anticipated courtesy of the talentless hacks and nobodies that make up her cabinet, long before the gaffes manifested.
Read: Pauline Steers a PQ Ship of Fools
The only real surprise was Pauline herself, who should have had enough experience to carry the ball as Premier, but she too, it seems, has suffered from the long years in obscurity and has developed a healthy dose of 'oppositionitis,' the numbing and debilitating condition that renders politicians useless and ineffective.
Now let us consider Pauline's first goal, to convince Quebecers that sovereignty aside, her government could and would provide honest, capable and effective government.
As the modern vernacular puts it.... 'How's that going for you, Pauline?'
So like Lucien Bouchard before her, the goal of convincing Quebecers that the PQ is responsible started with balancing the budget, surely an achievement that the electorate would have to take notice of.
Back in the day, Bouchard nearly destroyed the health care system in a wrong-headed attempt to balance his budget, reducing staff, buying out doctors and nurses contracts in a self-harming and long-reaching debacle that has repercussions today.
Pauline is going back to that same playbook, doing a balanced budget variation that is just as destructive and futile as Bouchard's folly. I wonder if she expects a different result?
And so Pauline asked the Education department to take over $200 million in cuts, knowing full well that the various School Commissions which would be affected have the ability to tax homeowners directly and that they could raise the difference in funding on their own and this, without affecting the provincial budget.
That's exactly what happened, with announced school taxes rising by up to 60% in some unlucky districts.
In adding additional capacity to the province's money-losing wind generation power program, Pauline knows that it will be Hydro-Quebec, not her government, which will bear the financial burden.
And so Hydro-Quebec has announced that it has no choice but to raise rates substantially to pay for Marois' promises.
How clever of our Premier!
Forcing other agencies to hike taxes and rates in order to help her balance her budget. A not-so-sophisticated political game of Three Card Monte, where like the elusive Queen of Hearts, the taxes are always hidden from the suckers.
The politics of these issues are usually above the public's capacity to understand and so, a little political rope-a-dope is usually all it takes to tire the public of the issue..
But alas, this issue may be the exception that proves the rule, somehow the white elephant that is the wind-power program has ignited and resonated with the public.
Taxpayers are not bright, but recognize a simple swindle when they see one, especially when it is they who are being conned.
The issue of the egregious political pork, benefiting a small PQ constituency in the boonies, while the rest of us pay the obscene bill, is something that will not pass unopposed.
There is a rising crescendo of rage in the Press, the Premier's sneaky attempt to have her cake and eat it too, not passing the mustard of acceptable governance.
As the issue gathers traction, more and more horror stories are appearing in the Press every day and so it seems that Premier Marois' chickens have come home to roost.
There will be Hell to pay in the Fall when Parliament resumes sitting. The Liberals smell blood, but more importantly the Press smells a story that will spark interest.
Either the Premier does a quick reversal on the wind energy project (entirely possible), or her government is in deep, deep trouble, the CAQ cannot on principle support that kind of waste and so with the Liberals lapping at the PQ heals, something may just give.
Pauline has demonstrated but one political talent, the ability to survive, but like the Teflon Don, sometimes your number is up.
