Tories not on hook for Mulroney furor, Canadians say in poll

[GAP]

Tories not on hook for Mulroney furor, Canadians say in poll
BRIAN LAGHI From Thursday's Globe and Mail November 14, 2007 at 11:30 PM EST
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OTTAWA — Canadians say the Conservative government deserves the benefit of the doubt over the Brian Mulroney controversy, while rejecting the notion of giving a similar break to the former prime minister.

A new Strategic Counsel poll for The Globe and Mail/CTV News finds that 66 per cent of those surveyed believe the allegations about Mr. Mulroney are totally unrelated to the current Conservative government, while only 19 per cent think they are related. By contrast, 57 per cent believe Mr. Mulroney should repay the $2.1-million he received as a settlement from a previous Liberal government in 1997.

The results suggest Mr. Mulroney may have a more difficult time bringing Canadians onside as he prepares for the public inquiry announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper this week.

The inquiry was called after German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber filed an affidavit in court last week in which he alleged that, just before Mr. Mulroney left office in 1993, the two met and discussed an agreement to pay Mr. Mulroney $300,000 after he returned to private life.
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[Kirkhill]

"Elected officials. That would be Jean Chrétien and his chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, and his senior advise,r Eddie Goldenberg, and his director of communications, Peter Donolo, and the clerk of the Privy Council, Jocelyne Bourgon, and the then-Solicitor- General Herb Gray, and the former justice minister, Allan Rock, and all their officials." 

From torydrroy via a_majoor Nov. 14.

"The poll also found a majority of Canadians believe the Prime Minister is covering up when he knew about the allegations to protect Mr. Mulroney. When asked whether they believe reports that Mr. Harper knew of the allegations last spring, 51 per cent said yes, while 34 per cent didn't buy the notion of a cover-up.

Mr. Donolo said while the result is not fatal for the government, Ottawa must be careful.

“I think it's an indication that Canadians are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but not a blank cheque on this issue,” he said." 

From the G&M article on the Strategic Counsel poll cited by GAP.

Peter Donolo:

Peter Donolo, Partner
Peter Donolo leads The Strategic Counsel's strategic communications practice.

From 1993 to 1999, Peter served as Director of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office and chief communications strategist for Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his government. In that position, Peter established a strong record in developing successful communications strategies for the most important government initiatives and most contentious political and public policy issues of the past decade. In the process, he established a strong personal reputation in one of the most intense and high-pressured jobs of its kind.

Following his tenure in the PMO, Peter served for two years as Canadian Consul General to Milan, and later as Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs and Government Relations at Air Canada.

Peter and his wife, Mary Cruden, have three children: Annie, Maggie and Michael.

Along with a love of history and travel (a bug that's bitten the whole family) among Peter's more arcane interests are the music of Frank Sinatra, the films of Rita Hayworth and losing at Scrabble.

No doubt Mr. Donolo would appreciate Mr. Harper being careful "on this issue".  As would many others.