Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 28, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a15 Winnipeg free 2000 Peru gets anew Chance by Michael shifter los Angeles times in the Perus notorious Strong Man was during his decade Long Alberto Fujimori projected supreme Bor Dering on but mounting accusations of corruption and the rapid meltdown of his regime forced him to Retreat to where he resigned with a although the full Story of Fujimori Rule remains something of a it is increasingly Clear that Vladimiro Fujimori former head of the National intelligence was an even stronger pillar of the after Montesinos was accused of involvement in an Arm Traffick ing scandal even the most and especially imaginative video spa Noves tape bribing an seem tame in opposition Mem Nam Narinn Ber of Congress the machinery of control and authority that he and Fujimori built began to longtime critics of Fujimori authoritarian Rule have been vindicated in Light of the relentless outpouring of reports of wide scale corruption and overseas Bank accounts in Montesinos name total ing million May Only be the tip of the the peruvian Media have also reported that Fujimori May have transferred As much As million to japanese Bank accounts during a Brief Stop in even the most imaginative spy novels seem tame in since the unravelling of the Fujimori regime it is striking How rapidly Perus political institutions have regained some respectability and inde in one of its first moves last the new Congress reinstated the three judges on the constitutional Tri Bunal who were dismissed in 1997 after refusing to accept the legality of Fujimori running for a third consecutive Perus former chief Public a close Collaborator of has been replaced by a judge highly respected for her Independence and there has also been a discernible opening up of the country to be the country armed forces and intelligence Montesinos Haven changed that Montesinos remains at Large complicates but the Fujimori regime is and there is no support for or possibility of a military it is Only a matter of time before Montesinos allies Are Valentin who took Over after Congress deemed Fujimori morally unfit to Lead interim govern faces two principal tasks until Peru has a elected president next july the first is to carry out the essential business of including economic management and instilling Confidence among International investors and financial ins Titu the second task is to define the rules of the presidential elections scheduled for april 8 and to ensure that the elections will be free and the new Congress for need to work up measures regulating political parties and television cover age for the the major question is whether Perus political including what has been a relatively weak and divided will be Able to develop an Agenda for there has also moving the cer Noble open be a Good test ing up of the of Perus Point in Imine ical resource country one stand shared commitment to reconstruct the although the Favourite candidate to win the presi Dency is Alejandro who was set to finish second in last aprils elections but withdrew in protest of continued irregularities the election is More than four months and Perus politics remain highly fluid and the final Field May Well be quite Peru will also pose a test for the United Washington apparently valued its relationship with Mon who was credited with direct ing Perus successful Antidrug a top if Evi Dence eventually bears out serious allegations of human rights abuses and widespread it May be difficult to reconcile Washington Long association with Montesinos with a Strong and sustained commitment to democratic Progress in Many peruvians who praised the United states for speaking out at critical moments and for its positive contributions to their country democratization Are perplexed and disturbed by the alleged Montesinos if questions of leadership still knocking on Ontario door voters had not even started dropping ballots into boxes in Ontario yesterday and there was already a web site on the arguing that Stockwell Day is the worst thing to happen to Canadian conservatism since since Preston mannings Reform party gave the coup de Grace to a progressive conservative party that been mortally wounded by Brian the creators of the web site want to save conservatism by giving the Boot to Stockwell Day As Leader of the Canadian Alliance and bringing Back the original author of the Effort to unite the in an attempt to finally defeat the to defeat the Liberal Leviathan requires a breakthrough in could Manning have done better in this election than Day did this is one of several imponderables that confront canadians in the aftermath of elections Manning had two chances to win in in the 1993 and 1997 both times the Reform party ran into a Stone Wall at the Manitoba there is no other than Wishful to think he might have done better this and the fact that he was rejected in favour of Day by Ontario delegates at the Alliance leadership Conven Tion earlier this would argue that he could another still another is whether the Alliance would have done better if prime minister Jean Chretien had not rushed to the polls a yearn Dahal before his mandate was up and Only weeks after had been elected to Day did not run an impressive some thing that might fuel the argument that the More experienced Manning might have done had the election been called in the when it More properly would have the Alliance Leader would have More time to acclimatize to nation Al whether that would have made a differ ence can be argued Over Coffee in Western Canada for a Long time to perhaps the most interesting question for the was in a by prime minister Chretien himself in the dying Days of the when he remarked that he preferred working with Eastern Canadian that westerners were somehow unpleasantly whether Chretien was joking remains unclear it to the prime minister but it raises the final and perhaps most important i Ponder can an Wester based political party with no roots in Ontario Ever Hope to capture the affection of that no matter who leads it on the the answer would seem to be the results of this election can Only be seen As a crushing disappointment to Canadian conservatives and their Effort to unite the the Alliance under Days leadership did not do nearly As Well As it had hoped even As it might realistically thought that it might have the Ontario breakthrough did not once went with the lib once gave them the but in patience is not always valued As the virtue that it mired in postelection the Alliance should not ignore the accomplishments that it did in Atlantic where it was Given no Hope at it split the vote in at least two not enough to but surprisingly respectable showings that offer Hope for the in and it increased its proportion of the popular these Are not the dramatic developments that party members had hoped but they Are the Way that a National political party is actually piece by the 1957 Diefenbaker that conservatives had hoped to it should be happened to a party that had a National presence for a it May seem it May even be that Ontario will never accept any political party that storms out of Western Canada As being legitimately but with each More and More ontarian see the Canadian building on the Reform party As something Worth voting when Rome could no longer govern it was the barbarians from the North who finally gave them a competent in the barbarians from the West need to show Ontario that they can do the in imponderables can become the Alliance should give Stockwell Day some time to demonstrate whether he is the right barbarian for the Jean Chretien gets it once again Jean Chretien looks pretty when he tried thinking on his feet during the he past he seemed his Mouth working and nothing coming a dazed Street fighter who had taken one too Many to the but last big Gam ble paid and he looks like Ali coming off the dope ropes to Stop until last the prime minister looked not smart so much As he had stolen the Canadian Alliance promising big tax cuts with out actually committing most of especially the personal to he had called a snap election that left his opponents scrambling from the Start of the Campaign to its bitter he in the most audacious Man Ner simply thrown Money at the perhaps took the returning a big dividend for the investment of Public he Practised one of the most tried and True strategies for avoiding pain when caught with a hand in the cookie none of made the pm look it simply made him look Uke what he an old arrogant and cynical in the Conception and application of but Chretien remarkable major Ity of about 170 his an historic performance even if it was achieved four years Short by the rules of fair play forces one to rethink Chretien might have been o v to that he might have just demonstrated some depth of experience along with his consider Chretien last night not Only achieved a remarkable per Sonal he has positioned the Liberal party to continue the unbeaten Streak after Hes As he said before the he plans to stick around for two or three More after last no one is Likely to Tell him sticking of All dooms Paul Martin to the same Fate As his Paulk Martin a con tender for the top Job without achieving the top Given that Paul Martin was first in the hearts of canadians As Chretien once was when his party chose John Turner to Lead it into the Wilder Ness it seemed for More than a year that Chretien was simply mean denying canadians and Martin what they so clearly wanted someone other than Jean but perhaps what Chretien saw was that stepping aside would have the effect of simply passing the Torch from one member of the old guard to Aneth it might be but the fact is that if Chretien Sticks around three Martin will become yester Days in the same people like Brian god help us Tobin will have a Opportunity to establish themselves As the new the next generation of Liberal leadership a new wave will be As the results last night Chretien seems to have played Quebec by and find Chretien More distasteful than the proverbial Western whether they find him they voted for him again last trimming the blocs sails by about seven or eight it was expected that the bloc would hold its vote in this Campaign and then fade from the scene As soon As Chretien stepped or was humiliated with a but Quebec clearly already has grown weary of the a Quebec weary of the bloc is a Quebec once again open to the should the Alliance finally make its break through in Ontario next Quebec will once again be Ripe for Liberal not the smartest thing Chretien is Likely to do is continue to play for the next several years he can defend the rdc he can deny deny any wrong he can oppose parliamentary he can defend the abuse of the Canadian he can cover up waste and mismanagement in Indian he could even Ponder the future of the if he Felt like and on the Day he announces his he can take All that bag Gage with him into leaving the Field open to new ideas that will Blunt the platforms of i hate to give Chretien credit for but he Doest need a Back slap from Hes going to get More than enough from everybody doonesbury by Garry Trudeau ;