Canadian media have a reputation for leaving politicians' private lives out of their reports and I don't find that troublesome so long as those private lives are not affecting the politicos' ability to serve the public good. I draw a line at blatant hypocrisy, e.g. gay politicians who oppose gay rights but that's not the subject of this inquiry.
A few weeks ago, Ottawa observer Norman Spector wrote about reports circulating in the capital of problems in the prime minister's marriage and explained why reporting this would be in the public interest.
These days, being as far away from Ottawa as one can get, it was only a few months ago that I caught wind of rumours that the first couple (to borrow an Americanism) were living separately (Mr. Harper at 24 Sussex, Ms. Harper at the Chateau Laurier).
Intrigued, I checked out the rumour with two journalists in Ottawa. From both, I got the sense that it was likely true. And that it was not being reported because it was deemed to be a personal matter. I found this reasoning to be a bit strange—if the PM’s marriage was in trouble, that was something that could affect his performance and lead to bizarre decisions. And given the power of the office, the troubled marriage could impact all Canadians.
link: NORMAN'S SPECTATOR
Spector was writing in the context of explaining a possible motive for Mrs Harper's inclusion in the PM's year-end interview with CTV News; that her participation (as soulmate and supporter to the PM) is central to the Conservatives campaign strategy for the next election. The PM's reputation as a family-man and devoted husband would be in tatters if it was shown to be only an illusion.
For its part, The Globe and Mail pulled Spector's words from its website.
Editor's Note: We have removed the text of an original posting on this blog as it fell short of The Globe and Mail's editorial standards with respect to fairness, balance and accuracy.
link: Editor's note - The Globe and Mail
The Globe and other Canadian media continue to render any coverage of the story out-of-bounds.
So it was with surprise that a report that may or may not be related surfaced in the February 2011 edition (not yet online) of Toronto Life Jan Wong writes:
"So is the media discrete, or merely cowardly? You be the judge: a rumour has been circulating for months now about the infidelity of a high-level political wife in Ottawa, possibly involving a female RCMP officer. And yet not a whiff has made it into print (until now)."
Is it Wong's legendary vanity that is leading her to claim to be breaking the story (in fairness, Spector's report was online, not in print)? Are the stories related or not?
Maybe the level of suspicion would drop if the PMO didn't give so much publicity to those times Mrs Harper is escorted to Ottawa social events by John Baird.
If the parliamentary media are suppressing a story with direct relevance to the government's campaign strategy it's time for a reassessment of what constitutes legitimate reporting.
