Political sleaze knows no gender

Oh, Canada!  Home of the venal politician!

The antics of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford have provided amusement around the world, but there are plenty of others in the dock.  The Mayor of London, Ontario, Joe Fontana,  was recently forced out of office over a spending scandal: he allegedly used public funds to pay for his son's wedding.  The Mayor of Brampton, Ontario, Susan Fennell,  is facing a police inquiry after allegations of wildly extravagant travel at the expense of the city's taxpayers.  The former Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, is still under a cloud after cancelling a couple of power plants before the 2011 provincial election in order to secure votes for his party -- an act that cost taxpayers over $ 1 billion.

Sadly, McGuinty seems to be having some success in rebuilding his reputation, though he'll never hold elected office again.  However, Ms Fennell is under intense pressure to quit, and Rob Ford is trailing badly as the endless municipal election campaign wends toward its conclusion at the end of October.

And then there's former Alberta Premier Alison Redford, hounded from office some months ago and now leaving politics altogether after allegations of persistent misuse of public money.  (Travel expenses, once again, are at the heart of the story). Ms Redford is no great loss, but I'm surprised by the number of articles I'm seeing that bemoan the fact that she has, in some sense, "let women down" -- this one, for example.

It's not that long ago that the majority of Canada's Provinces had female heads of government.  Now we're down to two: Kathleen Wynne in Ontario and Christy Clark in BC.  Sexist backlash?  I doubt it -- it's just the way things go in politics.  And it certainly doesn't help the cause of women in politics if writers like Ms Timson appear to hold females in senior positions to a higher standard than men, and accuse them of "letting women down" when they fail to meet those standards.

There are certain character flaws that you need if you plan to be a politician: you have to be ruthless and self-righteous, needy and bossy.  That's what will get you to the top, but it's also what will bring you down.  Ms Redford had all of those qualities in spades, as do Rob Ford, Joe Fontana and Susan Fennell.  Ms Redford certainly let the voters of Alberta down, and let her party down, but she didn't let women down, because her gender played very little part in her rise and fall.