Actually, it’s looking like it won’t be a boring shuffle at all, but I really wanted to use that as a title…
From every indication, it will be a major shuffle which means I was wrong that it would be a small shuffle, although I was only off by four days on the date. I’m tempted to give myself some credit for successfully predicting James Moore’s exclusion from Cabinet but that’s about as easy as saying “Rob Anders won’t be in Cabinet”, so I don’t think it should count.
Anyways, the swearing in ceremony will be at 4:30 this afternoon. Kady O’Malley seems to have the best mix of inside info and obsessive blog updates, so I’d check her blog out for those of you who are so excited over the prospect of a Cabinet Shuffle that you can’t concentrate at work. Early buzz appears to indicate movement involving MacKay, Bernier and Prentice.
UPDATE: O’Connor to Revenue, MacKay to Defense, Prentice to Industry, and Bernier to Foreign Affairs. 9 Ministers change portfolio and Ablonczkczxzzzy finally gets into Cabinet. Full thoughts later.
Random Comments: (to be updated throughout the afternoon/evening)
-The best lines from Kady O’Malley’s blog:
Update 3:32pm… Maxime Bernier – probably Foreign Affairs – and his surprisingly hot wife. At least, I hope she’s his wife.
Update 3:38pm… Okay, apparently *not* his wife. Bernier, that is. I’m thinking girlfriend, though, since now that I think about it, he’s a suave divorce. Interesting dating technique: inviting her to your swearing-in.
-One reporter asked Harper a question about why he did the shuffle and he answered that Carole Skelton’s departure made it necessary. Uh-huh. And since Gordon O’Connor was the most obvious choice for revenue, everything else just fell into place…
-One reporter wastes a question on toy safety, asking if Steve is concerned about his children. Harper looks confused since, I’m guessing, his kids have never owned toys in their lives.
-All in all, I think the big shuffle is a smart move. Mix it up in some troublesome portfolios and get ready to hit the fall with fresh faces, a throne speech, and some new priorities.
-Bernier in Foreign Affairs is probably because they’ll need him to sell Afghanistan there. And, like Barbara Yaffe said on Newsworld, he’s a “good dresser and kind of cute”, so I guess he’s a logical replacement for MacKay.