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The politics of disaster (III)

The Globe considers the day’s optics.

Today is the day Stephen Harper’s decision to shut down Parliament should have come back to haunt him, as opposition parties gather in Ottawa to draw attention to what would have been a back-to-work Monday for MPs. Instead, the eyes of the world will be drawn to Montreal, where global dignitaries including Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are gathering as guests of Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon, to plan the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged Haiti…

“It has allowed the Prime Minister to remind [Canadians] of how strong a leader he is, how decisive he can be when it comes to doing something,” Conservative strategist Goldy Hyder said, adding that “Quebeckers particularly like decisive leadership … even if they disagree with it.

“From that old Chinese proverb, which I use with the greatest of respect, crises can be opportunities as well,” he said.

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