Is Hugh McFadyen driving away the moderates?

The fact that Brandon West MLA Rick Borotsik has decided not to run in the 2011 election would not be a big deal in itself; politicians retire all the time, and Borotsik has had a long and (by Tory standards) respectable career. However, David Faurschou has also decided not to run, and it may be no coincidence that both Borotsik and Faurschou are among the most moderate Tories in the legislature (for instance, Borotsik, as an MP, was one of the few members of his caucus to support same-sex marriage). Add to this the fact that former Tory MLA Marcel Laurendeau, in announcing his intention to run for the Liberals next year, said that McFadyen has moved the party "too far to the right", and you have to ask - do we really know Hugh McFadyen? One thing is clear - Borotsik, Faurschou, and Laurendeau do...

Lett on the Hydro issue

This article by Dan Lett sums up the Hydro situation pretty well, I think. Not only is Selinger not in a panic over the allegations, he's going out of his way to clear the air:

As a former finance minister who was also responsible for Hydro, no one in this government knows more about Hydro than Selinger. One of his first acts as premier was to ensure the audit would be completed well before the next election in 2011.

That is either a foolish and reckless move, or the new premier knows something we don't know.

In other words, if he had anything to hide, do you think he'd be so eager to have the audit completed before the election? Somehow I doubt it.

As one of the comments to the article points out, it's also rather telling that the Opposition has been awfully quiet about this issue of late. They raised it in the fall session of the legislature, but that was before the mystery consultant made her most outlandish claims. If this issue had real legs, the Tories wouldn't shut up about it. Just imagine how Rick Borotsik would rant and scream, for instance, if there was anything to it.