“The average man doesn’t want to be free. He wants to be safe”
– H.L. Mencken

The political winds of Manitoba are shifting, or so one would be inclined to believe from the smorgasbord of patented verbal back slaps that have been heaped upon freshly-resigned premier Gary Doer.

Just before the provincial legislature once again becomes rife with the hustle and bustle of our elected officials, Doer, seemingly out of the blue, announced on Aug. 27 that he would step down as premier of Manitoba after a decade, as well as more than 20 years as the leader of the provincial NDP.

While this seemed curious at the time, any confusion as to why he fled his responsibility to his constituents mid-term was abolished when it was announced that Doer will be given the comfortable position as the new Canadian ambassador to the United States.

I, for one, would have questioned the sanity of the outgoing big man of Manitoba if he had chosen not to leave the stifling confines of an elected and therefore publicly accountable position for the publicly-funded extravagant life of a jet-setting diplomat.

These questions would have abounded, not necessarily because politicians always take the easy way out, but rather because Doer has seemed always to opt for the safety of mediocrity as Manitoba’s premier. There is little which is less typical in political life than settling down to a fat paycheque and life of relative leisure in some unaccountable position of false importance.

“ There is little which is less typical in political life than settling down to a fat paycheque and life of relative leisure in some unaccountable position of false importance

One need only to ponder the nauseating boredom that choked the life out of provincial politics in Manitoba under the reign of Doer’s NDP to understand why taking the easy way out and leaving before his term was fulfilled was chosen. While they were elected in 1999, slaying Gary Filmon’s former Progressive Conservative government with the duel swords of improving health care and accountability, the NDP has spent nine subsequent years basking in the glow of their leader’s popularity, capitalizing on the facts that the provincial PC party has produced successive dud leaders in Stuart Murray and Hugh McFadyen, and that the provincial Liberal party has been an irrelevant spot on voter’s election cards since approximately the mid-1950s.

Conveniently, Doer’s method of governance was basically summed up in his own words during one of his post-resignation press conferences.

As the Winnipeg Free Press stated, Doer feels that “the old left-right jargon…is out of date and out of touch with the public.”

Appropriately for a man who feels that ideological differences are antiquated, he preferred to govern more as a placeholder than a leader, opting often for a smile and a joke for the press corps, rather than bold policy planning or an expansive vision for the province.

Even so politically rudimentary a policy as the creation of an advertising campaign aimed at re-marketing Manitoba, the much maligned ‘Spirited Energy’ money pit – insert own joke here – reeked of a lack of inspiration, instead presenting itself as a timid offering which met the bare minimum of expectations, rather than an invigorating attempt to breathe life into a stagnating provincial perception.

While the praise will no doubt continue to be heaped upon Doer, it is a bittersweet admiration that he inspires. After 10 years as the leader of Manitoba, it is without a doubt that he has had an impact upon the nature of politics in this province. Unfortunately for those left in his political wake, this impact has manifested itself into a disdain for grand policy vision, and a championing of mediocrity.

So, farewell Mr. Doer. In a short while, your aversion to political risk will ensure that we barely remember you were here.

Andrew Tod is a University of Winnipeg politics student.

Published in Volume 64, Number 1 of The Uniter (September 3, 2009)