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The Hill Times
| July 10, 2000 | BACK | NEXT
Martin to lie low, to take stock of
career
Popular federal finance minister's low profile
fuels rumours of quitting
by
Angelo Persichilli
The
Hill Times
Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin is planning to lie low over the
next few months in order to take stock of his life in federal politics,
inside sources say.
Mr. Martin (LaSalle-Émard, Que.), currently the most popular candidate
to succeed Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (Saint-Maurice, Que.) plans to have
a busy summer, but with very few, if any, public engagements, say Liberal
strategists. The minister's more relaxed schedule is in sharp contrast to
the frantic pace he has kept up over the last few years and the switch has
revived rumours that the popular Liberal minister might quit politics this
fall.
When the federal cabinet ministers' lists of engagements for summer
reached the Prime Minister's Office, it became immediately clear that Mr.
Martin was virtually absent for the next two months.
"The reality is that many people were telling him lately that he
looked too tired and, finally, he has decided to do something about
it," said a source close to the minister of finance.
And that "something" is very simple: Mr. Martin will work only
on one big international event this summer when he attends the G-8 Summit
in Tokyo and Okinawa, Japan along with Prime Minister Chrétien from July 20-23.
"From now, to that event, Paul will work to prepare himself for the
G-8 and only the commitments already made will be honoured," said the
same source, who did not want to be identified.
Mr. Martin has been the most popular choice for MPs and even other
cabinet ministers to be the guest of honour at fundraisers. As well, groups
have asked Mr. Martin to join them in religious celebrations, community
events and political gatherings.
"He did need some rest," said a close adviser, who said in
July and August all new requests will be turned down "and he will
honour just some of the commitments already made."
Once he returns from Japan, Mr. Martin is scheduled to meet for
"two weeks exclusively with his family." The family meeting is
not, according to the same source, a kind of "walk in the snow in the
summer," but just an opportunity to have a holiday with the family
before the beginning of the fall session in the House in September.
Rumours of Mr. Martin's decision to quit politics resurfaced again recently
after some of his closest advisers told him to quit politics before the
next election. Terry O'Leary, his former executive assistant who now works
at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., met Mr. Martin on June 20 to advise
him to leave politics.
In the June 26 issue of The Hill Times Mr. Martin said it was his
"current intention" to run again.
And last Sunday, the Sun Media's Parliament Hill reporter Anne Dawson
reported that Mr. Martin is struggling with his career decision and is well
aware his huge team of leadership campaign supporters is expecting a signal
from him as to what his intentions are by summer's end.
The rumours of Mr. Martin leaving have had a negative impact on the
Canadian dollar which dropped to 67.54 U.S. cents last Friday. In order to
stop the speculation Mr. Martin's office last week was forced to issue a
statement confirming that the minister is not going anywhere. "The
minister has said on numerous occasions that he intends to run again and
the minister's word speaks for itself. It has not changed," said
Nathalie Gauthier, Mr. Martin's press secretary.
Meanwhile, the supposed pressure put on Mr. Martin by some of his
closest advisers has increased the split between Mr. Martin's supporters.
"It seems that there is a clear split between the MPs supporting
the minister of finance and some of his political advisers," said
another of Mr. Martin's advisers.
But Liberal MP Joe Volpe (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.), who is a strong
Martin supporter, said the party needs Mr. Martin.
Declared Mr. Volpe: "Paul Martin has earned the right to leave
whenever he wants but the party needs him more than ever and there would be
a big gap in the Liberal campaign if Paul Martin were to leave."
Mr. Volpe said Mr. Martin "always has been loyal to the party and
he continues to be loyal to his colleagues. There is no question that he is
going to be there when they need him most."
As for the other supporters who are advising Mr. Martin to leave, Mr.
Volpe doesn't want to pass any judgment but said that "there are other
advisers telling him to stay and leaving is not an option to
consider."
Meanwhile, Maclean's columnist Allan Fotheringham recently wrote that
relations between the prime minister and Mr. Martin are so "sour that
they no longer speak, save the formal exchanges across the weekly cabinet
session. The two cabals in the capital -- flacks, consultants, backroom
boys--one for Martin, one for Chrétien, even drink in separate watering
holes, for fear of overlap."
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