The political reaction to Jack Layton appointing Nycole Turmel interim leader of the federal New Democrats is predictable, disappointing, and disturbing.
Shortly after the ailing leader appointed Turmel it was revealed that Turmel was a member of the Bloc Quebecois. The howls of protest and calls for her head on a spit, from everyone from the federal Conservatives and Liberals to the provincial Liberals, have been decidedly un-Canadian.
The politicos, other than the New Democrats, are demanding that she resign. Why? For no other reason than she one belonged to the Bloc Quebecois. By that reasoning, a good portion of population of Quebec should forever barred from federal politics (forgetting, of course, that the Bloc still has four MPs and that the actions of our last Conservative prime minister are what gave rise to the Bloc). The suggestion that Turmel cannot be interim leader of a federal party simply because she once belonged to the Bloc is borderline xenophobic. We, in this country, have reveled in the fact that that is not who we are.
And yet, here we are.
We, at least the politicians, are unwilling to accept that people have different pasts. Michael Ignatieff was vilified for the fact that he lived abroad for part of his life.
So why did Layton appoint Turmel? He鈥檚 no dummy. Layton knows that much of his support comes from disaffected Bloc members in Quebec. He knows he cannot turn his back on that support if he wants the party to make even greater gains that it did in the last election. That doesn鈥檛 mean the party has to, or will ever, support the separation of Quebec from Canada. Should the party begin to head down that road will quickly lose support in the rest of the country. Plus, an interim leader is usually someone who does not have designs on making it permanent, leaving the door open for those who do to position themselves for a shot at the top job.
Where the hypocrisy arises is in the fact that if Turmel decided to cross the floor tomorrow and become a Conservative, Prime Minister Stephen Harper would likely welcome her with open arms.
Where the irony lies is in the fact that most Canadians don鈥檛 care.
A recent Canadian Press-Harris Decima poll revealed that about half of Canadians, 46 per cent, said Turmel鈥檚 previous affiliation with the Bloc was not an issue. Close to 25 per cent said it was a minor issue, with only 20 per cent saying it was a major issue.
The results, once again, show that politicians鈥� views often don鈥檛 reflect those of ordinary Canadians and issues are made where there really isn鈥檛 one.
What鈥檚 also important from the poll was the discovery that, four months after the election, popular support for all parties remains virtually unchanged from election night.
