Growing pressure leads to resignation

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This article was published 23/01/2014 (4459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — As Premier Kathy Dunderdale announced her resignation Wednesday there was a moment when her voice caught and she fought tears.

“Public service always, always means great sacrifices for families and so it has been for mine,” she said, glancing at her daughter Sara.

“But my family has been absolutely extraordinary. I could not have served otherwise.”

Dunderdale, who has been under growing pressure, announced she will quit Friday as premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and leader of the Progressive Conservative party. The defection Monday of a once loyal supporter cut short a family vacation and spurred what party insiders have called her inevitable exit.

It’s an early end to a landmark victory on Oct. 11, 2011, when the province’s first female premier — the daughter of a Burin Peninsula fisherman and one of 11 children — won a majority government.

Her Tories took 37 of 48 seats and Dunderdale spoke at the time of wanting not one, but two four-year terms in the top job she inherited when Danny Williams quit politics in December 2010.

“One of the greatest challenges is going to be that I’m not Danny Williams,” she said of the stark void left by one of the most popular premiers this country has ever seen.

Those words would haunt Dunderdale. Just over three years since she became the uncontested Tory leader, political observers say it will be a steep climb back to contention for her party before the next election.

“Ancient Hebrew scriptures teach us that there’s a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens,” Dunderdale said as she announced her departure.

“Just as you know when it’s time to step up, you also know when it is time to step back, and that time for me is now.”

Dunderdale, 61, spoke in the lobby of the province’s legislature, surrounded by caucus members who applauded and embraced her. While the backing of her innermost circle appeared to be holding, the surprise move Monday of backbencher Paul Lane to join the Opposition Liberals was another jolt to her hold on power.

Lane had been one of Dunderdale’s most vocal supporters but said she has lost touch with voters. He cited constituents’ unease with tightened restrictions on access to government information, and said she badly handled a series of major electricity failures earlier this month that at one point left 190,000 customers cold and fuming.

Overarching Dunderdale’s recent troubles has been her inability to publicly translate what supporters say is her private warmth. A tendency to come across as lecturing or dismissive hit its height in the midst of the blackouts as she outraged many residents by refusing to call the situation a crisis.

 

— The Canadian Press