Opportunity Lost
Stuart Murray took a fair number of hits, but one of the most unfair was the criticism he took for being clear on the Tory position in regards to the post secondary tuition freeze. Honestly, it was one of the few issues where we held a principled and consistent position.
Many members of the party (and a few in caucus) wanted him to tone down his vocal opposition to the policy. They felt that it was too difficult campaigning when you were telling middle-class Manitobans that it would cost them more to send their kids to school. Toss in a few people who just bought into the idea that low tuition was just sound public policy, and maybe it is fair to say taking the opposite side - while correct from a policy point of view - was a net negative.
However, I still argued that we needed to stay in front of the issue and remain consistently opposed. We knew that the longer the province held out, the more damage the policy was going to cause our institutions and the louder the crys of opposition would grow. The newspaper was already behind lifting the freeze, most of the university heads as well. Manitoba's opinion makers were headed towards the Tory position.
We also knew that eventually the government would be unable to sustain the freeze any longer. We would be able to claim the moral high ground when they finally moved to lift the freeze and be rewarded in the media for being in front of the issue. We'd earn some credibility on policy in the eyes of the folks paying attention, something that we haven't always had with our big policy pitches the last few elections.
Many members of the party (and a few in caucus) wanted him to tone down his vocal opposition to the policy. They felt that it was too difficult campaigning when you were telling middle-class Manitobans that it would cost them more to send their kids to school. Toss in a few people who just bought into the idea that low tuition was just sound public policy, and maybe it is fair to say taking the opposite side - while correct from a policy point of view - was a net negative.
However, I still argued that we needed to stay in front of the issue and remain consistently opposed. We knew that the longer the province held out, the more damage the policy was going to cause our institutions and the louder the crys of opposition would grow. The newspaper was already behind lifting the freeze, most of the university heads as well. Manitoba's opinion makers were headed towards the Tory position.
We also knew that eventually the government would be unable to sustain the freeze any longer. We would be able to claim the moral high ground when they finally moved to lift the freeze and be rewarded in the media for being in front of the issue. We'd earn some credibility on policy in the eyes of the folks paying attention, something that we haven't always had with our big policy pitches the last few elections.
Good idea, right? Take your lumps early, but win the battle in the long game.
sigh
Suffice it to say, we backed off our outspoken support for removing the freeze.
Suffice it to say, we backed off our outspoken support for removing the freeze.
sigh
Suffice it to say, there isn't a single Tory in this article on the NDP backing away from the freeze.*
So now the NDP will receive the kudos from the opinion makers for belatedly doing the right thing. And we'll around to say, "Yeah, we woulda did that too!" to anyone who asks.**
Suffice it to say, there isn't a single Tory in this article on the NDP backing away from the freeze.*
So now the NDP will receive the kudos from the opinion makers for belatedly doing the right thing. And we'll around to say, "Yeah, we woulda did that too!" to anyone who asks.**
That's a shame.
* - I'm not sold that they'll lift the freeze. This would be the year to do it, but this could just as well be the lower expectations Doer at work, before "surprising" everyone next week with a continuation of the freeze. I'm going to be watching this one closely to see how it plays.
** - I hope that's how we spin it, as bad as it is for spin. What would be really terrible is if we come out 'fighting for students' and criticize lifting the freeze because of how it'll "hurt enrolment" and "keep poor Manitobans from attending." While I'm sure we'll take the weak spin tact, I'm unable to completely rule out the latter one. Can you?
** - I hope that's how we spin it, as bad as it is for spin. What would be really terrible is if we come out 'fighting for students' and criticize lifting the freeze because of how it'll "hurt enrolment" and "keep poor Manitobans from attending." While I'm sure we'll take the weak spin tact, I'm unable to completely rule out the latter one. Can you?
They would be in power right now if Stu Murray was still leader.
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:10 PM
I didn't realize that the Tories backed away from the policy. In any case, I hope Doer lifts the freeze simply because it would nice to see him do the right thing instead of the politically expedient thing for a change.
I respectfully disagree with Anon.
Posted by
cherenkov |
6:29 PM
I think the Tories have been cribbing from the Howard Hughes play book. He made famous the merits of foot dragging and taking no position. His operational policy meant that he generally waited until everything played out and even then, visibly past a deadline, did not make a decision until it suited him.
Posted by
unclebob |
9:00 AM
In the last election, it was only the Manitoba Liberals that called for an end to the tuition freeze. They proposed that tuition rise no more than the rate of inflation, with extra funding for student bursaries.
Posted by
Anonymous |
9:18 AM
I like the Liberal position , best. I agree with the first anonymous. The tories would be in a better position if Stuart Murray was their leader. Kirkfield would be a tory seat, and the Jet would not be coming back. Hugh Mcfadyen would make a nice backbencher.
Posted by
Anonymous |
12:33 PM