24 September 2009

Kremlinology 5: hard to swallow that

In other instalments in the Kremlinology series, we introduced you to Trevor Taylor. There were a couple of signs that things were not right with Trevor Taylor and his relationship with the current administration.

Until today he was a cabinet minister in the Danny Williams crew.  He’ll be resigning his seat in the legislature next week.

Taylor pulled pin unexpectedly Thursday, announcing he was off to a new gig with a not-for-profit interested in Arctic ecology.  According to Taylor, he is going for personal reasons.  He said he made the decision a month ago, told the Premier a week and a bit ago and dropped it on cabinet today.

There’s a new job waiting for him that will involve working with a not-for-profit on fisheries management in places like the Beaufort Sea.

The real reasons are likely contained in all the pre-emptive denials Trevor tossed out in his scrum:

  • He still loves Danny
  • No dissention or tension
  • Not running federally
  • Nothing to do with Flowers Cove

Politics is hard on the personal life and when things get tough on issues like Flowers Cove, forestry and the fishery – all big issues in Taylor’s neck of the woods -  family members often bear the brunt.   The fact that Taylor hasn’t been able to make any headway with his cabinet colleagues on those issues doesn’t help.

His tone during the scrum seems stressed.  This is  a guy who doesn’t appear to want to leave politics. If he has issues within his family, a job that will take him over North America and involve work at the opposite end of the country doesn’t sound like a recipe for spending more time with the kids, as the phrase goes.

For his part, the Premier praised Taylor and said it might take until next month to sort out a new cabinet arrangement. A permanent replacement for Taylor would take longer.   Taylor has carried a few stinky parcels for the current administration, including the fibre optic scheme. 

Maybe Taylor’s departure speaks to frustration at his inability to change certain minds in the Confederation Building.  He spoke about getting into politics to make decisions on certain things.  One of them was likely the fishery, interestingly a portfolio from which Taylor was ripped in favour of some old-fashioned thinking. 

Trevor Taylor is a relatively young man who – until today – seemed to have a bright political future ahead of him, especially in a post-Danny Williams Tory party.  The fact that he decided to pack it in, rather than stick it any longer, might be a sign that kremlinology sometimes works.

Any other cabinet ministers or back-benchers feeling political heat these days?

-srbp-