Saving the furniture

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This article was published 16/04/2016 (3627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — There is a well-known phrase in Quebec politics that describes the mission of Manitoba’s New Democrats prior to Tuesday’s provincial election: sauver les meubles.

It means to save the furniture — political shorthand for instances when a party’s electoral prospects are so dire it is simply trying to cut its losses and minimize the carnage on election day. (As in “the house is burning but try to save the furniture.”)

It connotes a palpable level of fear, worsened by growing resignation that something bad is about to happen at the polls and it cannot be stopped.

It also describes the predicament now facing the NDP and explains the party’s behaviour as the date with voters draws closer. Facing the almost certain prospect of losing more than two-thirds of its seats, Team Selinger has launched an onslaught of increasingly frantic attacks aimed at saving what it can.

The attacks give off such a scent of desperation, however, they may actually worsen the party’s fate Tuesday. The release of NDP Leader Greg Selinger’s 2014 tax return last Sunday, and the attack against Tory Leader Brian Pallister that followed is a good example.

Standing in the kitchen of his St. Boniface home, the premier sought to portray Pallister as a wealthy tax-evader who looks down upon struggling Manitobans from his Wellington Crescent mansion. The stunt backfired, however, when a review of Selinger’s tax return disclosed he and his wife had earned $275,000 in 2014, and he admitted his family owns two cottages, including one at Lake of the Woods.

Those admissions revealed a premier who was pretending to be an ordinary guy living in an ordinary home is among the top wage-earners in the province, with all of that income coming from taxpayers. Not exactly one of the “little people.”

Even worse, Selinger’s demand for Pallister to reveal his tax return — and the overt implication the PC leader must be hiding income-producing assets if he refused — made no sense. Tax returns only show declared income, not hidden earnings. Beyond that, Pallister’s asset declaration is available for public review at the office of the clerk of the legislature and has been since he became an MLA.

Selinger’s tax-return stunt and the media blowback that ensued is a perfect example of bad things that can happen when a campaign reaches the point of self-preservation desperation. Tired, scared politicians often make poor tactical decisions, hoping for a home run but almost always striking out. Sometimes, in spectacular fashion.

Another overt sign of a growing “save the furniture” mentality within the NDP is the spectacle of candidates distancing themselves from their party and leader, hoping personal goodwill within their respective constituencies will protect them. That few NDP MLAs and candidates have stood beside Selinger for announcements during the campaign is one sign they don’t want to be dragged down by the least popular premier in the country.

St. Norbert MLA Dave Gaudreau told Selinger during a February caucus meeting: “People hate you. They’re not voting for you. They’re voting for me.” Longtime Elmwood MLA Jim Maloway has put large stickers on his campaign signs that cover the NDP logo.

Brandon East MLA Drew Caldwell’s campaign brochures contain no references to Selinger nor photos of the party leader, and the municipal government minister isn’t hiding the reason why. He told the Free Press last week: “There’s a lot of dislike for Greg Selinger over the last two years. Greg Selinger has made some errors in judgment.”

Another symptom of the “every man for himself” mindset overtaking the NDP campaign is the reallocation of scarce resources. Lost-cause ridings are being abandoned in order to buttress those that contain some hope of victory. (Sources indicate volunteers have been diverted from the party’s Brandon West campaign to try to save Caldwell.)

After almost 17 years in government, it has come to this for the NDP. The party of Ed Schreyer, Howard Pawley and Gary Doer could be reduced to the party of eight in three days.

Sauver les meubles? Quel dommage.

Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon.

deverynrossletters@gmail.comTwitter: @deverynross