The federal Conservative government's decision to grant Karlheinz Schreiber a two-week reprieve from extradition amounts to little more than political chest-thumping, the controversial German-Canadian businessman said yesterday.
And if he is extradited to Germany where he faces criminal charges, Schreiber said he would be hard-pressed to co-operate with a public inquiry into his business dealings with Brian Mulroney.
...which is fine, if Harper et al want the whole affair to drag on forever. What kind of inquiry can you have without Schreiber's cooperation? And how d'you think Mulroney will feel if he is cheated of his day on the stand? Who knows what dirty Tory secrets he is still in a position to reveal. And d'you think the opposition parties will stop pounding on this day after endless day in the HOC until the Tories yearn for the home, for the corn-fields of Northern Alberta?
No. My advice is to pull the band-aid off now, take your lumps, and try to salvage something of an agenda that has been derailed and stomped into mush by this latest scandal.
10 comments:
Cover up what specifically? Surely you don't believe there's any substance to Schreiber's allegations that he could have brought up eight years ago but instead chose to drop on Canadians mere weeks before he was due to be punted out of the country to face charges in Germany. A multi-jillion dollar inquiry is a waste of taxpayer's money and it will prove two things we already know:
a) Schreiber is a shady dude.
b) Mulroney is also a shady dude.
Coverup? Bah... not frikin' likely.
grumpy:
Good point except...
In politics perception is more important than reality. The Conservatives won the last election because they managed to cultivate the perception that Mr. Martin was involved in Adscam.
So when Mr. Gomery absolved him of any responsibility it fell on deaf ears. Reality versus perception.
The Conservatives would be in the same danger is Mr. Schreiber is shipped off to Germany. Sending the key witness in an inquiry away just two weeks after calling that inquiry is very bad optics to say the least. Rightly or wrongly the Opposition could have a field day and accuse the government of all sorts of things, including coverup, and much of it would stick.
Seems to me there wouldn't need to be all this angst if the PM had acted 7 months when he was sent these allegations.
Hmmm, 7 months. I think maybe some witnesses could have been called in that time.
Scandal - do you mean like the3 "in and Out" the Liberals and NDP did? How about visiting Scheiber in Jail. Do you feel thats a scandal? How about Marc Lalonde posting bail? Is that the scandal?
How about we look a little closer at the Liberals ties to terrorism? That I'm looking forward to...
So again please What Liberal scandal do you want to look at?
The Liberals have aligned themselves perfectly with the German crook.
He wants what the Liberals want. They both want to manipulate the extradition process for their own end in exactly the same way.
"Extradite me [him], and your inquiry will be a bust."
Both try to give credence to the sham allegations made thirteen years after the fact, and on the eve of his extradition,
for their own unsavory purposes.
While the Liberals cheer him on, the German crook continues to avoid his extradition as he's done over the last several years.
That the Liberals would forge this unholy alliance, is nothing short of breathtaking.
Yet surprising it isn't.
Funny...you sound surprised.
What is unsurprising is the Connie dyspepsia and typical projection.
God, you people really don't get laid enough.
The grumpy voter is right.
Aside from the Toronto Star and the Toronto Globe and Mail and Liberals not too many people are exercised about this thing.
Oh and I forgot about ti-guy, looks like he's wet his pants in excitement too.
Advice to Liberals: get a new leader and some realistic policies.
The grumpy voter is right.
Aside from the Toronto Star and the Toronto Globe and Mail and Liberals not too many people are exercised about this thing.
Oh and I forgot about ti-guy, looks like he's wet his pants in excitement too.
Advice to Liberals: get a new leader and some realistic policies.
Oh and I forgot about ti-guy, looks like he's wet his pants in excitement too.
Are you kidding? This is a typical Canadian scandal...very little money involved and no on got any sex.
I'd be happily distracted by an example of the Harpies actually governing, but that ain't gonna happen. Hasn't in two years, after all.
"Rightly or wrongly the Opposition could have a field day and accuse the government of all sorts of things, including coverup, and much of it would stick."
Right. All the Conservatives would have to say is that if there really is a case against Mulroney, then there should be more than a contradictory affidavit from a convicted felon.
Also, you may think Martin lost the election because the public perceived he was involved in Adscam. I would argue Martin lost the election because he came across as weak, desperate and indecisive. During the campaign, Harper was the opposite of this.
We could quibble about whether Harper's policies were exactly what Canadians wanted, but having some guy stand up and clearly state what he was going to do was a pleasant change from a year and a half of Martin vacillation.
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