Premier with an attitude

Guest Editorial -

He must have been having a very bad hair day.

Premier Danny Williams' decision to call up VOCM talkback host Randy Simms last week and blast him for having the gall to discuss the crumbling forestry and fishery - and whether the provincial government is too focused on the offshore oil riches - was extraordinary.

Williams accused Simms of being overly negative and of talking "crap." Williams went on to ask Simms why he was being so negative on a day where the province had landed another huge windfall from the riches of the deep. The premier then fired a few parting shots before unceremoniously hanging up on Simms, who was left sounding stunned.

And so he should. But not in a bad way. Williams' decision to jump on the phone and launch a rant ensured everyone was talking about the exchange for the next few days.

It was an amazing exchange on several levels.

It leaves one to wonder whether the province is under some sort of verbal martial law that prohibits free speech.

On another level, the venom that Williams spat was another classic move from this oh-so-savvy of leaders. It's the kind of speech designed to portray him as a victim and Simms as the big, nasty, negative evil force that poor little Newfoundland and Labrador has been battling against for so long. Williams blustered a while, made his point and then hung up, presumably headed to his office to solve yet another crisis and ensure the province's "legacy" to future generations is all taken care of.

This is not to debate whether Simms' question - is the province too focused on oil while the forestry and fishery die - was legitimate. Talk show hosts routinely ask these kind of questions.

They're designed to get people to tune in and, hopefully, call in. Yes, sometimes they're sensationalized questions, but that's the nature of talkback radio.

Williams, by calling in, legitimized Simms' question on a level that no regular caller could have. Many people were likely left wondering whether Simms had touched a very raw nerve with the premier. Maybe the Williams government is a one-trick pony and has no answers to the other problems facing the province. After all, no amount of wheeling and dealing will help fish stocks recover quickly or make the global market for forestry products suddenly turn around.

But ultimately, most people are not convinced of that. But many have likely concluded that Williams genuinely believes there is no place for the province's media to question his administration when times are good and, in his words, the province is "booming" (Labrador West residents might have a few things to say about that, too).

Williams said he won't listen to the negative, cynical voices in the media anymore and will move ahead "despite" the naysayers (See? There's little Danny fighting the big, nasty cynics again). He pointed to his looming successes with the Lower Churchill (which seems anything but a slam dunk) and several other projects as evidence that he is taking the province in the right direction.

So all folks can be comfortable knowing that the premier won't read a word of what is written in this editorial. That's just fine.

But just in case he is, here's a message for him: By attacking the media's right to free speech, Mr. Williams, you have shown that your legendary thick skin needs to grow a few more layers.

Andrew Waugh, former editor of the Labradorian in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, writes from Nova Scotia.