My God, we didn’t have much of a summer this year. It practically rained the entire time! And I froze my ass off for the rest of it, or sweated my mood to sour when it got too hot.

Let us Manitobans unite in our disappointment with the changing prairie climate. It was our individual and communal daily story. But really, we Manitobans love exaggerating and it wasn’t the catastrophe we made it out to be.

In other news, Gary Doer resigned. The charming politician with the nice head of hair has decided to move on after 10 years of being our premier. There’s been a lot written in the media, but not a lot of public opposition. In fact, Manitoba NDP membership has doubled since his resignation (which ironically could be a form of opposition).

Doer’s new thing is Canadian ambassador to the United States. The position is reserved for political vets and his resume certainly qualifies him for the job.

He clearly excels at politics and has the skills necessary to represent Canada. Moreover he has a reputation as a skilled strategist but not overtly partisan and just being an “everyday kind of guy.” He sounds almost perfect for such a high-ranking bureaucratic position.

“ Premier Doer understands our apathy, which explains why he can walk out halfway through his term and not risk his party’s destruction next election.

However, isn’t it troublesome that this supposed New Democrat has taken off to advocate to the world’s superpower? Sure he’ll do a great job playing the political cards, but that isn’t the point. Prime Minister Stephen Harper chose him because they knew he’d do a great job advocating their policies. This seems strange for a member of the NDP.

Perhaps this development would not be as noteworthy if Doer had finished his term, or taken the position after a few years of retirement. But now he’s going to woo American politicians for causes that are in many cases quite contradictory to the philosophy of the NDP.

Being bipartisan is a fantastic trait as a diplomat since you must be able to cross that ideological threshold for liberal international relations. But there comes a point where you end up not standing up for much at all and begin sitting on the fence.
The bottom line is this: While Winnipeggers are obsessed with the mundane things such as the weather, when it comes to provincial politics we should start paying attention.

Premier Doer understands our apathy, which explains why he can walk out halfway through his term and not risk his party’s destruction next election. Now he will join our federal government in fear mongering about Barack Obama’s attempts to change NAFTA, amongst other things. He’ll continue to sell our government’s non-decision on climate change.

It’s rather disappointing to see, don’t you think?

We can call politicians selfish when they are partisan, but isn’t there a point where they should stick to their guns and stand up for what they “stood” for before?

In contrast to our exaggeration of the weather here in Manitoba, we continue to under-exaggerate Doer’s importance. And that, in turn, allows him to do whatever he wants.

Matt Austman is a politics student at the University of Winnipeg.

Published in Volume 64, Number 7 of The Uniter (October 15, 2009)