When opportunity — real or perceived — beckons, opportunists will engage.
And to this writer at least, the coronavirus appears not only to beckon, but the miserable microbe is also engaged in crooking its metaphoric finger and a come hither slither.
Is that a bit dramatic, a tad over the top? Perhaps. You decide.
I have, though, been noticing that some politicians, usually those occupying parliamentary or provincial gulag seating (that is, the opposition benches), have sniffed out an opportunity to smear the other side as indifferently refusing to slam the door on any expansion of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
And I find it’s happening particularly often on social media and through thankfully easily deleted electronic mass emails.
Read more:
Opposition accuses Saskatchewan premier of delaying COVID-19 response
There’s also social media, like Twitter. In fact, I engaged that very digital platform on this topic this week.
“Let’s be polite, shall we?” I tweeted on Thursday. “It’s unseemly for politicians to attempt to cash in on Covid by slamming their opponents’ approach. Talk about setting the bar low. And they wonder why there’s tune out of their messaging. Good grief.”
Let's be polite, shall we? It's 'unseemly' for politicians to attempt to cash in on Covid by slamming their opponents approach.
Talk about low setting of the bar
And they wonder why there's tuneout of their messaging. Good grief.— The Roy Green Show (@TheRoyGreenShow) November 12, 2020
Among the replies, one person wrote: “100% right Roy. Rachel Notley has Covid on blast daily.”
Another wrote: “You’re right Roy. All I’m hearing from the opposition leader in Manitoba is “blah, blah, blah! The Premier is failing at Covid.”
Read more:
‘We must do better’ — Notley criticizes Alberta government’s COVID-19 response
And then there was this from @thepinkneonbird: “I don’t envy any premier right now. It’s a fine line they are walking between the economy and the virus. Why aren’t the opponents offering solutions or ideas to help?”
A tweet from @CalgaryGeorge tightened the circle: “It’s a lot easier to call for lockdowns and closures when your income is unaffected and your ability to buy groceries and pay bills is untouched. The economy is also part of the healthcare system.”
Bingo! Double bingo!
Perhaps you have gathered this post is non-partisan and pro-Canadian.
Canadians are wearying of exposure to the same old, same old.
Read more:
NDP to introduce motion looking into all government coronavirus pandemic spending
As reported in May by my Global News Radio Vancouver colleague Mike Smyth, as well as Global News, two-thirds of Canadians wanted members of Parliament to share the national pain and take a pay cut. This was a month after the national economy had shed nearly 2 million jobs.
Hah!
Instead, MPs received an April pay top-up of 2.1 per cent, an increase that Justin Trudeau offered to charity, yet his annual salary remained sacrosanct.
Commentary:
It’s time Canada’s members of Parliament shared the financial pain, Roy Green says
Politicians of all stripes are party animals. Predatory behaviour toward their opponents becomes part of the career DNA.
This is a difficult time for millions of Canadians. Just weeks ago, we heard some 1.3 million of our fellow citizens had reached the critical reality of six months without a job.
Read more:
When did you last work? 1.3M jobless Canadians have passed critical 6-month mark
If leaders of political parties truly believe the “we’re all in this together” rhetoric, they need to start behaving like it.
Roy Green is the host of the Roy Green Show on the Global News Radio network.
Listen to the latest from the Roy Green Show
Subscribe to the Roy Green Show Podcast now at Apple Podcast or Google Play