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That sweet smell is karma

The words 'equal, elected and effective' meant something different to the PMO when he was with Reform Party.

To the Editor,

Our English language evolved mainly from British dialects, along with many words derived from Latin and Greek, and a multitude of words borrowed, and sometimes “Anglicized”, from other languages around the world.

One such word that is commonly used in political context these days is schadenfreude, which is German for “satisfaction felt at someone else’s misfortune”. There’s no better way to express what I think about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s present predicament.

Some 25 years ago as a top lieutenant in Preston Manning’s Reform Party, Mr. Harper was very vocal on how Ottawa needed to be changed, and how it should start with a Triple E Senate (equal, elected and effective). Large parts of Alberta’s populace became very supportive; although the political leaders in the fledgling party, and many in the media, failed to point out to the gullible voters that they would need support from many more provinces to change how the Senate is constituted.

Fast forward from the early days of the Reform Party to present-day Ottawa. Two of the PM’s hand-picked senators have quit their caucus following questions about home-province residency, and fraudulent expense claims. The scandal has its genesis in the PM choosing two high-profile media mavens to fill Senate seats.

I concede that the PM is a very clever politician, but at the same time I have never had much respect for him.

So when he gets dragged deep in the doo-doo over a Senate scandal largely of his own making, I have to say: “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy”.

The sweet aroma of schadenfreude is filling my nostrils right now.

Bernie Smith,

Parksville