The Duffy disaster

SENATOR Mike Duffy has been living in a political twilight zone ever since questions were raised about his housing and travel expenses. First he was railroaded out of the Conservative party’s caucus; late last year he was suspended from the Senate altogether. One way or another, a denouement is now approaching. On July 17th the national police force charged Mr Duffy with 31 counts of fraud, breach of trust and bribery.

That threatens more embarrassment to the ruling Conservatives. Stephen Harper, the prime minister, came to power in 2006 promising to deliver clean and transparent government—in contrast to the defeated Liberals, who had been tainted by an advertising-spending scandal. It was he who handpicked the veteran television journalist for a Senate seat in 2009. Mr Duffy is one of three former Conservatives suspended from the Senate over expense claims. (A Liberal senator whose spending was questioned repaid the amount and resigned.)

For his part, Mr Duffy denies wrongdoing. He maintains his expenses complied with somewhat nebulous Senate rules and that he was forced to repay them under pressure from officials in the prime minister’s office. In a defiant departing speech in the Senate last year, he said a fake pay-back scheme where he took out a mortgage but was then reimbursed C$90,000 by Nigel Wright, the prime minister’s then chief of staff, was all part of a “monstrous fraud” created in the prime minister’s office. He promised then that if charges were laid and the case went to court the truth would come out “when all the players are under oath”.

A court case may finally clarify why Mr Wright, who has been cleared of wrongdoing by the national police and has returned to the private sector, used his own money to pay Mr Duffy C$90,000. It could also shed light on whether Mr Harper knew of the payment. The prime minister has steadfastly maintained he did not.

The Conservatives will be grateful that charges have been laid at a time when parliamentarians and other Canadians are enjoying a summer break after a particularly harsh winter. Family barbeques and water sports take priority over political news in the summer months. The auditor-general of Canada may also inadvertently come to the Conservatives’ aid. He is currently auditing the expenses of all the senators and could well turn up some Liberal offenders, which would take some of the heat off the government. But Mr Harper will not be able to put the affair behind him for a while yet. The next session of parliament is due to start on September 15th, with Mr Duffy making his first court appearance the following day.

Original Article
Source: economist.com/
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