Belinda Calls It Quits

It was with a certain amount of shock that I read Belinda Stronach is leaving politics so soon after entering it. Not alot, but some.

Idealism, however, doesn't seem to have motivated her. Citing the need to spend more time with her teenaged children, she recently whined that being in opposition is still a full-time job. Well, duh! Given the government we have, everyone in opposition should be working overtime. I'm sure the corporate sector won't be such a drain on her time; plutocrats are known for their support of working mothers.

I suspect the fact that the Conservatives look poised to take the next majority played no part in her decision. Magna, the business her father runs and which she one day hopes to run, is making some moves to take over Chrysler/Daimler. Her father may be looking to step down soon, so the conclusions can be drawn not from what she says but from what she does.

Nevertheless, a couple of years in government has definitely made the Belinda brand less Newmarket and more up-market. High-profile relationships with Bill Clinton (strictly platonic - she's too pretty for him), Tie Domi, and Peter MacKay were the talk of the papers for weeks, and so the decision may have more to do with finding that private/public balance with which many celebrities struggle.

It's always a shame to lose a female politician, even one as shallow and dissembling as Belinda Stronach. As shallow and dissembling as she is, she could have been one of the greats.

Still, I wouldn't count her out; if she could only marry a Trudeau (not to mention stay Liberal) she might be Prime Minister yet.