Williams on his political future

CBC’s Debbie Cooper put the question to Premier Danny Williams last Thursday at the end of a sit-down interview on his Lower Churchill announcement.

“Is this your swan song?” she asked.

Williams has usually tied his political future to a Lower Churchill announcement. Your humble e-scribbler put it this way back in 2006 when Williams talked about not seeking a third term in 2011.  At that point, he’d already established a timeline for the Lower Churchill that put a decision to go-ahead with it in 2009 or 2010:

Williams announced his resignation - actually that he would not seek a third term in 2011 - in comments made to VOCM and then repeated in subsequent year-end interviews.
Williams' resignation, likely to come in 2009 or 2010 after a decision on the Lower Churchill, comes at the end of a year of continued set-backs for the premier who has been in equal measures petulant and posturing.

The prospect of his resignation came up earlier this year.  The Western Star – the province’s second daily newspaper suggested the Premier should consider resigning. He didn’t take well to the idea in April, but Williams was in a decidedly different mood with Debbie Cooper.

In answer to Cooper’s question, Williams called Thursday’s announcement the crowning achievement of his political career.  While he said he would likely run again, Williams did acknowledge there “could be circumstances that creep in, like health”.  Williams also said he was always reassessing the situation.
That, too, is a marked change from previous comments on his political future.

2011 could turn out to be a very interesting year in politics across the province.

- srbp -