安省省长麦坚迪的一生:成功的政客 失败的领袖

　　成功的政客，失败的领袖

　　Dalton McGuinty –Successful politician, failed leader

　　安省省长Dalton McGuinty麦坚迪挂冠而去，震撼省民，各大传媒，纷纷推测辞职原因，英文主流大报，分析玄机之馀，更提早以社论评述他16年从政的功与过。

　　言论比较倚重商界，立场中间偏右的Globe and Mail《环球邮报》，10月16日以标题McGuinty accomplished much, but there’s much to do，麦坚迪功大于过，但仍有其不足之处 ，这样评价他的政绩：

　　He departs after nine years of leading Canada’s second-largest government, with a generally successful record that balanced progressive investments in education and the environment such as closure of the coal plants and the creation of Ontario’s Greenbelt, with sound economic policy, notably the HST。

　　Toronto Star《多伦多星报》一向倾向支持自由党，则以Dalton McGuinty resigns : Premier leaves a solid legacy 为标题，肯定麦坚迪留低的legacy政治遗产，相当不错，但谈不上出色或独特。“Solid” is good but not special。In journalistic understatement, solid means definitely good and steady, but perhaps not excellent or special 。总的来说，还是功大于过，瑕不掩瑜：

　　Despite his evident shortcomings, the fact remains that McGuinty was on the right side of the big issues for Ontario throughout his nine years in office。He has a legacy to be proud of。

　　《星报》社论认同自由党政经的大方向，麦坚迪政府纵有犯错，大事恰当:

　　教育方面： Under the Liberals, Ontario’s education system became a world leader. High-school graduation rates are up sharply since the early years of the last decade. Full-day kindergarten became a reality. More students than ever are going to college and university。

　　医疗方面：In health-care, the Liberals under McGuinty invested heavily in hospitals, doctors and nurses. Ontario has the shortest wait times in Canada, and many more Ontarians have a family doctor。

　　能源政策方面：McGuinty’s government took important steps towards securing Ontario’s energy future and safeguarding its environment. It established the greenbelt around Greater Toronto, curbing endless suburban sprawl。

　　财经税制方面：McGuinty took the brave but unpopular decision to bring in the harmonized sales tax and protect Ontario businesses’ competitive edge. He played a key role in keeping the auto industry alive during the 2008 。总而言之，《星报》认为他成就不凡，具历史性：These are important, even historic, achievements。

　　政经取态一贯保守右倾的National Post《国家邮报》隆而重之，以National Post Editorial Board编辑室的名义，毫不客气地盖棺定论，认为麦坚迪省长是成功的政客，失败的领袖 : Dalton McGuinty—successful politician, failed leader ：

　　Let it be said that Mr. McGuinty was indeed a successful politician — though not, unfortunately, a remarkable or especially principled one。

　　省长只有选举方面的成就，可惜执政表现欠佳，未能坚守原则 not principled，缺乏moral backbone道德风骨，risk-aversive and evasive, 经常迴避可能不讨好省民的政治决定：

　　There was a negative side to his inoffensive, religiously centrist, risk-averse brand of politics. Because Mr. McGuinty was so skilled at avoiding public outrage, he often also avoided tackling serious problems in a straightforward way。

　　Ottawa Citizen《渥太华公民报 》的社论Never dull with McGuinty，比较持平，有褒有贬：

　　McGuinty will be remembered for his political skills and longevity, and for his genuine desire to make Ontario a more progressive province that is prepared for the future。

　　《公民报》认同自由党现时需要另一位新的领袖，带领政府重新上路，麦坚迪已完成他的任务： No one can take away McGuinty’s three election victories, but he might be right that he’s not the best person for that job anymore。安省自由党应该有新人接棒，谱上新的一章：

　　We will now see the end of a remarkable provincial political career, and the beginning of another exciting chapter in Ontario politics。

　　纵览四份报章的社论，对麦坚迪任内面对的难题problem争议controversy、丑闻scandal 都有批评，鞭苔程度却有不同。例如Toronto Star《星报》特别提到安省政府电子医疗严重浪费公帑及救援飞机财政混乱两宗丑闻：

　　There’s no escaping the fact that McGuinty leaves under a large and darkening cloud. Ontario’s economy continues to struggle, mostly for reasons beyond his government’s control. The eHealth fiasco was an early blot on his record, and there’s been more since then. The scandal over the ORNGE air ambulance service showed a disturbing pattern of shaky management and lack of oversight over a rogue agency。

　　National Post《国家邮报》对省长麦坚迪的绿色能源政策尤其不满，令电费飞涨上升 ：

　　His government pursued a green policy aware happy face on the province’s power grid. Yet it added thousands of megawatts of premium-priced power at a time of declining demand, which Ontario must sell at a loss, driving up hydro rates。

　　省长处理Caledionia原住民的手法拙劣：the abandonment of the town of Caledonia to native lawlessness and intimidation, sometimes even violence，近乎严重失职 。The Caledonia failure betrayed a scandalous abdication of moral leadership，是失败领袖的表征。

　　而骆驼最后的一根稻草：取消Oakville奥克维尔与Mississauga密西沙加gas-fired power plants发电厂工程，反对党议员谴责文件不全，引发能源厅长面对contempt motion crisis藐视动议危机，正是很多分析家认为省长要求proroguing the provincial legislature省议会休会，以免触发更大政治丑闻，终结他9年算不上光釆的管治生涯：

　　Yet it was, in the end, perhaps the proverbial straw that finally broke the back of a political career that, improbably, saw the affable, paternal Mr. McGuinty lead Ontario for nine years despite his failings。

　　最后，Ottawa Citizen《渥太华公民报》，认为麦坚迪突然宣布辞职，留低一大串问题和疑团，远远多于答案：

　　How will a now lame-duck premier negotiate an extremely contentious public sector wage freeze with unions and/or legislation with the opposition?

　　How can McGuinty justify proroguing the legislature in the face of motions of contempt?

　　When will it return?

　　How can the Liberals select a leader for the future in a few weeks?

　　What of speculation that McGuinty is interested in the federal Liberal leadership?

　　There were many more questions than answers。