Selinger only worried about power, not cabinet’s views: dissident MLAs

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This article was published 04/11/2014 (3993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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PREMIER Greg Selinger was seen as more concerned with holding onto his party leadership than he was with listening to his ministers. And he punished those who questioned his leadership to his face.

That was the undercurrent Monday at a news conference at the legislative building in which the five rebel cabinet ministers formally announced their decision to sit as backbench MLAs.

Former ministers Jennifer Howard, Andrew Swan, Erin Selby, Theresa Oswald and Stan Struthers said their decision to demand the premier step aside was based on more than the manner in which the PST was increased or a lack of support for the government in opinion polls. It was also how Selinger dealt with dissent at the cabinet table, they said, although they did not provide specifics, citing cabinet confidentiality.

And they said their decision wasn’t made in haste; it had been simmering since the beginning of summer.

“I think it’s fair to say that this has been building for a long time,” Swan said.

Struthers said when he met privately with Selinger, the premier was more interested in the validation of his leadership than hearing critical advice. “I’m not a wallflower,” Struthers said. “I told him exactly what I thought.”

The rebel ministers said when Selinger didn’t hear what he wanted, he put their priorities and those of their departments on the back burner.

“I’ve deep respect for the office of the premier and for the office of cabinet ministers, and I know that I am unable to effectively continue doing that job when the only way that my voice will be heard is if it is in total agreement with what the leader says,” said Oswald.

Less than four hours after the five cabinet ministers addressed the media on Monday, they had been replaced.

They will continue to serve as MLAs, and they said they would continue to support their party in the legislature. They added they also plan to run in the next provincial election.

It was not clear whether the premier would boot them out of caucus, as he did when Riel MLA Christine Melnick crossed swords with him earlier this year. “That’s a speculative question,” Selinger said, when asked by reporters.

Meanwhile, Howard refused to count out the NDP in the next election — expected in April 2016 — despite the rifts created by the ministers’ decision to speak out against their leader.

“The NDP in Manitoba and in this country has been around for a long time,” Howard said. “It is a mature and sophisticated political organization with people who are very committed to the values that we’re all committed to and very committed to the democratic process. And I have no fears that the party will find its way through this. And we will all be there helping to do that.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca