Who drove the tank into the legislature?

I wonder if there is an official term to describe the scenario when someone who is unauthorized jumps into a tank and drives it over cars, playgrounds, and the like, because that is exactly what happened in New Brunswick over the weekend. The tank in question is registered to the Miramichi, and it goes by the name if Michael "Tanker" Malley.

See, when Bernard Lord first came to power, Tanker was elected to represent Miramichi-Bay du Vin. At first, Tanker was more of a novelty to the Lord crew than a serious MLA with leadership potential. Tanker added a home-town face to their campaign and made them look like a party of the people, but no one seriously considered the former bus driver to be cabinet material. Tanker was re-elected when Lord won his most recent scarce majority, and it wasn't long before rumours started spreading of his possible defection. The Lord's workers didn't make it any easier for him. Miramichi was one of a number of communities that saw vital health services cut by the Lord government, a move that was obviously extremely unpopular in those areas. This put Tanker in a difficult situation. Should he continue to support the government, or should he side with his community? Before giving him the chance to decide, Lord made the smart move of making Tanker chief whip, which meant that, instead of spending time considering his own defection, he'd have to concentrate on making sure everyone in the party was around for the crucial votes.

Since Tanker’s defection, two narratives have sprung up out of the blue, and it's hard to say which has a monopoly on the truth. Bernard Lord claims that Malley, upset at having been left out of cabinet, presented him with a list of five demands in order for him to stay on board. According to Lord, one of these demands was that Malley's friend and former Conservative leadership contender, Cleveland Allaby, be made a judge. Lord says he told Malley he wouldn't be blackmailed by anyone, even if it came at the expense of his slim majority.

Malley and Allaby both fervently deny any plot to have Allaby made a judge. They admit to discussing politics together, but Allaby claims Malley acted on his own. The thing that complicates this all is that Allaby happens to be the cousin of a well-known Liberal organizer, Larry Jewett, who has been accused of trying to persuade two different Conservative backbenchers to cross the floor or sit as independents. The Lord government would like us to believe that Jewett was working in cahoots with Allaby to bring down the government.

Right now, I'm not sure who to believe. The Premier could have decided to make up these allegations in order to publicly slander and humiliate both Malley and Allaby, given that the connection between Jewett and Allaby was made before hand. The Premier, instead of looking like a man unsympathetic to the constituents of Miramichi, appears to be man of principle, whereas Allaby and Malley are made to look shady, opportunistic, and self-serving. Politics is a dirty game, and I would be surprised in the Conservatives, including Lord, would stoup to this level.

On the other hand, it is possible that Malley took his absence from cabinet as a personal insult and decided to go down with a fight. If he did, however, he seems to have been unprepared for the fallout, and maybe he incorrectly assumed that the Premier would keep his mouth shut about the demands. Either way, Tanker Malley doesn't look too good right now in the eyes of New Brunswickers. Indeed, if he does chose to bring down the government, chances are he'll be ending his own political career as well.

Some Conservatives, such as Brenda Fowlie, are trying to pin this on the Liberals, but so far they've managed to stay out of the mess. The only connection to the Liberal party is through Larry Jewett, who does not function in any way as a spokesperson or representative of the Liberal party.

Besides, it'd be hard for the Conservatives to make the Liberals look sleazy without reminding us all of the Pot's dilemma vis-à-vis the kettle. The Conservatives have tried everything imaginable to get their enemies out of the legislature, including appointing two to government jobs (Richard, Weir), and tempting a third (T.J. Burke), who was then, rumour has it, offered to succeed Bernard Lord as party leader if he crossed the floor.

The Liberals have been waiting patiently for Graham's numbers to rise in the polls, and it appears that, were an election held today, they'd probably win. At the same time, few have strong confidence in Graham's leadership, and may not want to rush into an election for fear that Bernard Lord's machine could kick into high gear and surprise everyone with a third majority. This might not be far from the wishes of many liberals, as that would give them an opportunity to call for their leader's head, and allow someone else to take over and fight against an embattled and soon to be finished Premier.

Whoever said small town politics is boring has never spent time in New Brunswick, that's for sure.