Prime Minister Stephen Harper caused a photo-op debacle at the G-20. According to The Canadian Press, the official excuse the Prime Minister missed the G20 “family photo” was he “was getting briefed by his officials on revisions to the draft G20 communique.” However, the BBC has reported our Prime Minister was in the loo. Here is how CTV Ottawa Bureau chief Bob Fife is reporting it:
Fife spoke to one of the BBC reporters about what officials told her:
“She said officials told her that indeed the prime minister was taking a comfort break,” Fife said.
….
“This story is spreading all over this summit. There’s at least 1,500 journalists here and everybody’s talking about it,” he said.
On Harper’s Twitter feed, there is no update yet about where he was. I’ll be blunt. It doesn’t matter if it was a briefing or bathroom break. The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada caused this problem. Politicians who reach the leadership level are used to being reminded about going to the bathroom, when (and what) to eat, and sometimes even when to sleep. Harper’s political corps let him down today. Neither the official or unofficial excuse make any sense. The only real excuse is bad political staffing. Combined with the awkward photo op with an AIG backed soccer player (who couldn’t or wouldn’t play for Canada) and two seemingly pointless trips to the United States in the past month, it’s becoming clear the PMO is off their game.
