Dear editor,
The upcoming weekend starts on Friday the 13th, but for some folks in Ottawa it’s the following Sunday that may have them a tad superstitious.
That’s when the Ides Of March commemorates the death of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, on that date in 44BC at age 56.
Everybody knows the story of how his own Senators plotted to kill him, how they plunged their daggers into him 23 times; how he disregarded his wife’s advice to keep away from the Senate, and the soothsayer’s warning: “Beware the Ides of March”. The guy who dealt that really low blow – his favourite senator, Brutus – claimed he did it for the good of Rome, because Caesar was such a tyrant and just been declared dictator-for-life.
Fast forward to 2015, where our somewhat tyrannical dictator in Ottawa — Prime Minister Stephen Harper — will reach the age of 56 on Income Tax Deadline Day, April 30.
While nobody dreams that the PM’s tight grip on power will ever end as violently as it did for his compeer back in 44BC, upcoming events surrounding our own Senate could lead directly or indirectly to Mr. Harper's political demise at the very same age as Caesar.
Three weeks before the PM blows out those 56 candles on his cake, the trial of his once favourite Senator Mike Duffy begins on April 7, and is scheduled to run to mid-June.
No doubt, metaphorical daggers will be drawn by many Tory caucus members who until recently revered the silver-tongued Mr. Duffy as their main campaign fundraiser, but now they are ready to bury those daggers in his quite ample torso.
Although it will be a portly bagman on trial for expense fraud and other accusations, the one who really has the most to lose — with an election mere months away — may well be the one who holds the most power right now. With many loads of dirty laundry from the PMO probably exposed for all the world to see and smell, it should be an interesting few weeks for Stephen J. Harper as he enters his 57th year.
Bernie Smith
Parksville