Source: http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Winnipeg/Tom_Brodbeck/2004/03/27/397572.html

Sat, March 27, 2004

Panicked PM vows changes

By TOM BRODBECK -- Winnipeg Sun

Prime Minister Paul Martin's campaign-style speech to a packed Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon crowd yesterday was the first time I've seen him in the flesh since the sponsorship scandal broke last month.

And it was the first time I saw panic in the eyes of a man some used to consider the backbone of the Chretien government.

I've been to a lot of Martin speeches over the years, as far back as the early 1990s when he stole a page out of the Reform party playbook and talked about the need to balance the books and pay down government debt.

He was never a great speaker -- rather awkward, really. But compared to his boss, former prime minister Jean Chretien, he'd be considered top in his class at any Toastmasters Club function.

Martin used to exude confidence. He even appeared to have a purpose. But that confidence has disappeared. And the purpose has given way to fear.

I saw alarm on Paul Martin's face yesterday, as he addressed a room full of reporters after delivering a 25-minute speech.

He fumbled questions. He wouldn't answer most of them. And he was, at best, fuzzy.

You could see the distress in Martin's face. You could hear it in his tone.

The former shipping tycoon's biggest problem right now is that he has nothing fresh to offer Canadians to divert their attention away from the sponsorship scandal.

He sermonized ad nauseam about how he's going to "clean up government." But he failed to provide a single specific idea on how to improve health care, education, the military or anything else.

That's OK when you're a popular prime minister and you're high in the polls in the middle of a term. Premier Gary Doer could stand up and do Mickey Mouse impersonations and it wouldn't alter the course of his political career much.

But when you're on the verge of collapse on the eve of an election, you better have something to offer Canadians that's going to get them excited, or at least interested in your party again.

Instead, Martin spent more than half his speech talking about how bad the system in Ottawa is -- a system he played a major role in for over a decade -- and how it needs to be substantially overhauled. He implicates himself every time he talks about it.

"It has to change for real," said Martin. "We will not hesitate and we will not yield."

Unfortunately for Martin, vague rhetoric about "shocking the system" just doesn't cut it. The bottom line is that the corruption exposed in the Liberal party is about ethics and principles.

Martin can talk all he wants about putting measures in place to improve accountability and reporting. But you can't legislate morality.

If elected officials want to siphon money out of programs to provide kick-backs to their political supporters, they'll find a way to do it.

Besides, the damage is already done. Martin knows that. And he knows the public knows that. That's why there's panic on his face.