Why is it so hard for our elected officials to admit it when they stumble? Postmedia posed the question, then called in the experts.
Why is it so hard for our elected officials to admit it when they stumble? Postmedia posed the question, then called in the experts.
Frank Farley, psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia: “It’s hard for anybody to apologize. But for a politician, it’s a gamble. If it goes wrong, it may show weakness.”
Jill Scott, professor at Queen’s University: “If you apologize for something, then you become responsible for it. And if you’re responsible for it, then that could require further action.”
For the record, Farley thinks Jason Kenney’s apology was handled just fine. The Immigration Minister called Alberta’s deputy premier to apologize for calling him an “asshole” in an email.
Says Farley: “He’s trying to be discreet and move forward but he knows the way it works — just as the email was made public, the apology will make it into the press.”