Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 10, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Fop tips Day May 10 1qcm editorials communist comeback Hungary communist past is looking better and bet Ter in the memories of hungarians who lately lived through the pos communist period of rapid inflation and growing capitalism was such a disappointment that the old running now As took per cent the largest share of the vote in Hungary National election on the weekend and Are Likely to dominate a governing coalition after the Runoff election May hungarians Felt the full Force of communist repression in november when soviet tanks rumbled into the eliminated the Short lived multiparty government of Imre Nagy and imposed the communist government of Janos firmly Loyal to the Warsaw pact and to the soviet Mas ters who had installed hungarian communist rulers in the 1970s and 1980s Toler ated growth of Small businesses and other lib eral but the Dis credited communists were kicked out when elections were held in Gyula who was foreign Secretary in the communist government until led the socialist party to a qualified Victory in the latest the party promised modest increases in welfare rates and gradual reduction in a conservative the free won 20 per cent of the the second largest socialists and free democrats jointly May be Able to form a majority communism in in the rest of Eastern Europe used to mean soviet with the collapse of the soviet Union and the Warsaw the reformed communists no longer have to answer for the 1956 invasion and for their party submission to the democratic in Power since had to answer for 12 per cent unemployment and 20 per cent communists at other times have proven to be ruthless coalition the hungarian Experiment May show whether Eastern Europe reformed communists Are now willing to share Power by democratic it has already shown that the socialist shorn of soviet is alive and kicking in Eastern the smell of Power some political assumptions suffered a serious loss of credibility yesterday with the publication of a new poll of party preferences among All three of the party leaders can go Back to the drawing Board and create a few new the first shaken Assumption was the belief that Liberal Leader Paul Edwards needs to become Bette known by the that his image is that people will want to know where the liberals stand if they Are to Suc a Sample of More than Winni Eggers seems anxious to try the at least at this stage of the despite knowing Little about their Leader and even less about their think of the advice Liberal deep thinkers will give Edwards about his since hardly any image at All pays such Rich will they suggest a prolonged tour of provincial capitals perhaps an appointment to the leaving the party without any Leader until after the the liberals should be sober enough to realize that leading the polls in Winnipeg is a reflection of the Federal Liberal Victory last october and that the Rigours of a 35day election Campaign will Tell the Edwards can Post Pone the trip and the judicial Manitoban want to know Why they should vote for him and what he plans to do if Premier Gary Filmon May be starting to rethink some assumptions of his All his talk about creating the right climate for investment Doest seem to impress Winni Eggers looking for or anyone else who is deeply worried about High unemployment unemployment and the Economy Are considered to be the most important issues by More than 50 per cent of those impatience is the slow rate of economic growth and the highest unemployment rate in the West create in the Premier wants to avoid raising he is Winni Eggers dont seem to expect much from his nip Leader Gary doer likes to say his party in Manitoba is insulated from the unpopularity of the Bob Rae govern ment in that is a doubtful do ers party runs third in All the recent polls because the new democrats represent a risk Many Are not prepared to that is not doers fault but it certainly is part of his this poll will stimulate More interest in Liberal Nomina Tion Battles shaping up throughout the smell of Power reaches far and it will double the pressure on Gary doer to Light a fire underneath his Smol Dering it will Challenge Gary Filmon to find a set of Campaign promises that generates More excitement than his government is Able to arouse at the Winnipeg free press Wynn Ptg Prthu my is72 Winnipeg Tribune pm Rudy Redekop publisher Duncan Mcmonagle executive editor John Dafoe editorial Page editor directors John Bardawil marketing Craig Barnard circulation de Belhumeur human resources Bill Burns Brian Cottom finance step Ian Majorki production Winnipeg a division of nov Stapars division of Thomson company limited published seven Days at 1385 Mountain Manitoba r2x pm m770m 4 atm by at than Toto Pitt Council Equality of Cfaft Righte Premier Hilmons Blue Hue classic Market theory is known to Deal put very rough jus Tice in allocating social resource Manitoba shows it Doest even pay off in economic Premier Gary Filmon admitted in the legislature last week his approach to government is partly responsible for Manitoba tie with Newfoundland for dead last among the provinces in economic expansion in both provinces scored a meagre per cent while Canada As a whole went ahead by per economic models the Premier that if the government increases its spending by three per cent in any one it would add one per cent to the growth of the provinces Gross Domestic one of the things that is a very fundamental part of any growth measure ment is the amount of spending in the Economy that governments Filmon As a since this province has been on a fiscal framework that has involved less spending than All of those other prov inces we Are doing less towards that consumptive Side of Gap Mea that consumptive Side does not add one Iota to the to the attractiveness for jobs or for invest ment in this All it does is con sume Peoples tax the Premier said the opinions of third party objective observers like the Dominion Bond rating the Canadian taxpayers the brokerage the Bon rating ser vices and the Chambers of Commerce Are what really he often Trum pets the lbs statement that this government has been the most fiscally responsible government in Canada from 1987 to the the he can create the climate for investment that will attract it cannot Cre ate Lon term jobs through artificial speaking during the budget Filmon enthused about introducing the corporate culture to the provincial Public we now have a senior management Frances Russell and indeed Middle management throughout the ranks of this provincial government that i believe is far More private sector oriented in the Way in which they Are dealing with the Chal Lenges that face the govern ment has set up special operating agencies and made them operate As though they were a his proudest repeated several times in every speech he is his governments seven straight years of tax freeze or lowering its a he any government in North America would give their Eye Teeth to in the next he reminds his audiences that the tories took Manitoba from the second Over All tax Load of any province to third and he is convinced it has meant Manitoba has a More competitive a More competitive Pri vate sector and a More attractive Cli mate for investment and Job creation than Ever before in the history of this the opposition has the statistics to prove it int working out that nip Leader Gary doer Points out Man Tobas average growth rate Over the last three years was one per while Canadas was per the Toronto Dominion Bank has forecast that Manitoba will continue to experience economic growth below the National average for the next three the premiers budget speech included a revealing Exchange Between himself and Becky Barrett said miss the Premier has talked about the Independent and third party accolades for his i wonder if the Premier has talked to the school divisions in the province of the universities in the province of the health care system in the province of Manito the people who no longer have a Cess to Access new Ca reer the Manitoba anti poverty organization and the Indian and Metis Friendship replied Filmon new democrats would give the control of government to the people who Are spending the Money on and that is the fundamental weakness of new demo All governments Liberal and nip As Well As tory Are cutting services in obeisance to the supposed omnipotence of globalization and what sets the Filmon tories apart is they really believe government is a dead that there is no connection Between Quality Public services and economic that the com Puter Programmer in the private Sec Tor contributes More than the teacher of computer programming in the pub Lic that belief and squeezing programs for the most vulnerable while extolling a seven year freeze on All progressive taxes gives the premiers moderate image a decidedly Blue the Little spacecraft that could i dont know what it is the solar a columnists prerogative to peer off into space on Occa Sion but i find my thoughts consumed by the Saga of the Little spacecraft that largely unreported last in this country because of the weight of More worldly events and the on Tario the Little Clem Entine has now completed phase one of its Low budget Mission the remap Ping of the Moon for the first time in 21 As you read these it has slipped the lunar orbit for a leisurely 19day Loop of swinging past some of my provinces to use earths Gravity like a giant Slingshot to give it self one last heroic fling into the head it almost didst get to make it Hap As 7tie new York times for the want of a trifling million one Days Coffee Money at the Pentagon defence department officials were All set to pull the plug last week in thanks for the this want because Clementine was a quite the contrary it was because it was such a Low budget Suc Sheppart put together with Little More than chewing gum and offt Heshel space parts albeit High tech gum and space parts the Craft is one of those creative entrepreneur Ial successes you occasionally read about in the business scientists scrabble together unused Star wars technology in an old Ware House and sent Clementine into orbit for a modest million that includes launch and extraterrestrial picture taking for a six month and is a lot cheaper than any thing the big space agencies could have done on their As the science reporter for the Mew York times put having no big Money also meant having no big Back ers in the world of government Power and especially when a budget crunch is defence didst want to dig into its pockets for the extra million to keep Clementine the White House want keen to intervene in a Small Fry Story that might glorify Ronald reagans Star and the space people at Nasa were apparently concerned that the Smalli Beautiful approach would undercut their own More ambitious projects still on the drawing in this of we see these dilemmas All the the big ambitious National plans always trying to crowd out the Little and not just in the world of science Grants or Csc programming or federa Provin Cial but there Are lessons to be drawn from clementines one is How much we like to cheer for the and give it that extra bit of environmentalists and social activists use his technique All the often with the Cost of More childcare places or an extra year of kindergarten is often measured As a fraction of some big Boondoggle the Best and most expensive helicopter Money can buy in or Der to boost its it hurts me to say but Clemen wine from the As a disposable hence the from the she is lost and gone 0 my Darling Clemen after this Slingshot tour of she is to go off and photograph some huge and possibly unremarkable asteroid known As 1620 at the end of and then to boldly go where her Brave Little transmitters have no seen in this the additional million to Complete clementines mis Sion can be said to be throwing Good Money after after she has proved the reliability of lightweight materials in Orbital she has photographed the Moon with digital Cam eras that have made its Dull craters shimmer with new scientific a part of me can understand the original intention to Cut her off in mid flight and also the inability of big bureaucracies to hang Tough on these decisions when there is a romantic notion a part of me also wants to see her sail once More past the Silver Sweet the Energizer Bunny of the the Globe Urual Tuio 1 ;