A few days ago I posted about the hazards of John Risley's CBC remarks on the FPI Act amendments.
I posted that by stating the obvious truth that these amendments are effectively meaningless that he left the door open for government to claim company resistance and impose real draconian measures. At a minimum, I suggested, these comments would come come back to haunt him.
Now we have the inevitable backlash from Premier Danny Williams:
"If Mr. Risley and/or others are going to be in your face and not treating the workers of the province in a fair manner, then they can expect a fastball at the side of the head from this government."
Just a few comments and lessons to be learned from this rather sorry exchange in the public life of our province:
- Nobody should go out of their way to pick a casual fight with this government because it's clear that this government has a near infinite capacity for conflict of the lowest kind;
- If you are going to pick a fight, pick a fight over a matter of substance rather than through some off-the-cuff petulant-sounding remark - make it worth your while, dig in and have a plan for follow-through;
- Respect and expect the role others have in the public communications drama - understand that if you push a drama queen then you should expect drama in return.
Finally, the question that begs to be asked:
What kind of government uses this kind of playground-thug kind of language in dealing with the largest company in this province's largest industry by employment?
Clearly Oxford University does not include basic public manners in their syllabus.
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