Former premier and PC Party leader of Ontario Ernie Eves gave a candid and honest view of his tenure as premier of the province to Ian Urquhart of the Toronto Star. While the Tories have revitalized themselves with new leadership, Eves gives a sense of where the party lost its footing leading up to the election and where it needs to go from here.
Some interesting quotes:
“The best advice I could give him (McGuinty) was: trust your inner self. Sometimes you’ll be advised to do things that something inside you tells you isn’t the right thing to do, and you’re going to have to have the courage to (say), `That’s all very interesting, but we ain’t doing it that way. We’re going to do it this way.’ Because at the end of the day you’re going to be the one who pays for it.” — Ernie Eves
“The strength of our party has always been that when we do fall on bad times, we have been able to revitalize our party. … I think the party now has a tremendous opportunity because, rightly or wrongly, and I’m not knocking Frank or Jim, I think the party now has chosen a leader that doesn’t have the Harris-Eves baggage. And I think that’s a tremendous opportunity.” — Ernie Eves
“I think he’s been captured by exactly what I advised him not to be captured by. I think Dalton McGuinty is basically a decent guy, but he doesn’t have the experience that some of us had going into the job. … You can’t please all the people all the time in public life. … You can govern for a while on political spin. You may even get lucky and win an election. But I think ultimately at the end of the day people get a sense of what you’re about.” — Ernie Eves
“I don’t regret one moment I’ve spent in public life, and there have been some that have been more pleasant than others. I think people go into public life because they want to try and make a difference. … I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity and then to be able to serve in cabinet” — Ernie Eves