“‘People sense Wouters (who came from Treasury Board) will be more inclined to move forward with government priorities than anyone else. He is seen as a good COO,’ said a Tory insider. ‘He is also a hockey aficionado and has a master’s in economics like Harper.'”
— The Hyper-Innovative Boundary-Busting Globe and Mail, today
UPDATE: Now that I’ve (provisionally) got over my Reflexive Saturday-Morning Globe Shudder, let’s pick this apart a bit. I can find nobody, including some of this government’s sternest critics, who is willing to say a harsh word about Wayne Wouters. Apart from the hockey reference, and the reminder that the prime minister is a big fan of the not-too-qualified, what’s most telling about this quote from the overworked A. Nonymous Tory is the greater inclination “to move forward with government priorities.” Fun questions:
• “Everyone else” is disinclined to move forward with government priorities? Hmm.
• Which priorities?
• Would now be a good time to re-read John Ivison’s column from yesterday, with a renewed inclination to take it as the best available read on what just happened?
The answer to the last question is “Yes.”