Two scandals are rocking us right now. One in Toronto on the municipal stage concerning the mayor and one in the Upper House in Ottawa that involves a senator and the prime minister.
As scandals go, this is rich fodder for the media but it has none of the "taxpayer taken for stratospheric rides for personal gain" features that mark scandals in India's coal-gate, telecom licences or fodder scams. In the case of the Mayor whose teflon quality (shades of gangster John Gotti) finally seems to be wearing out, it concerns him cavorting with all sorts of unsavory characters like drug dealers and a murder convict tow truck operator to feed his own questionable habits that so far has not affected his running of the city. In the case of the prime minister, it concerns his party's senator whose hand was caught in the cookie jar claiming reimbursement for expenses that he didn't incur or was not entitled to. The faux pas here was that the pm tried to cover it up but now denies all knowledge of his involvement. No politician ever learns from Bill Clinton's lesson of "admit it and apologize" right from the start. Inspite of seeming all innocent like, this country like the United States does have it own financial stinks that make individuals rich, but it happens on a level that few see and the press cannot lay their hands on some kind of proof which if absent, will destroy cred and hit them with liability. Can't help comparing the mayor's, senator's and prime minister's flu-like woes to their Indian counterparts' late stage cancer, but the only ones who worry are the ones with the flu. A matter of who has the conscience I suppose. Roland. Sent from Samsung Mobile
