Patronising Prevaricators

Patronage is in the eye of the beholder. One party's merit-based, qualified appointee, is another party's crony.

The Tories did in fact make huge promises while in opposition and during the election campaign last year. Last November, when the Tories announced they would introduce the Accountability Act, their press released promised to end patronage.

"The Liberals have repeatedly appointed insiders, in some cases completely unqualified, to important public offices," the Tories said. "A new government is needed to make sure that important public appointments are filled on the basis of merit and not simply as favours to friends and political supporters."

However, the Conservatives appear to be making appointments to a number of their supporters after just eight months in office.

The rest of the PolitcsWatch article offers a list of the senatorial, judicial, diplomatic and various other appointments -- up to and including the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal -- that just don't add up to anything other than patronage. Welcome back to the good old days of Lyin' Brian Mulroney. "...to be perfectly honest," said former Ontario premier David Peterson. "I would never trust or respect him. He is a pathological liar."