We have character, just like Ben Stewart! Just sayin' - in case our premier has any other $150,000 jobs in Asia waiting to be filled without notice.
Unfortunately we don't speak Mandarin, Cantonese or any other Asian language, but apparently that is not a requirement to be B.C.'s trade commissioner in China. Having character and Christy Clark's telephone number are more important.
Stewart stepped aside in June so Clark could run in his safe B.C. Liberal riding of Westside-Kelowna. No inducements necessary, according to Clark, because Stewart had so much darned character. It is surely not coincidence that just four months later, Stewart - a winery operator by trade - is best suited for a brand new trade and investment portfolio.
It's not the worst patronage appointment ever dispensed, but it serves as a closer-to-home illustration of why rewarding political allies may not get you the best man or woman for the job.
Take the Canadian Senate - please - where the government of the day appoints loyalists, not independent thinkers, to the chamber of sober second thought.
The best thing about the ongoing expenses scandal featuring Stephen Harper appointees, Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau is that Canadians have finally noticed they are paying 105 political appointees to feed at the public trough. Whatever happens to them and the prime minister's deniability, polls show the status quo won't stand. Opinion is split between abolition and reform, with a court ruling expected on the former.
Either way, the public's regard for politics is always tarnished by patronage.
