OTTAWA — Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis have become the poster couple for political entitlement, under attack not just by opposition critics but by prominent members of their own Conservative party.
Jaffer, a former MP and one-time chair of the Conservatives’s national caucus, was under intense pressure to explain how he dodged impaired driving and cocaine possession charges in a plea bargain that earned him a $500 fine for careless driving.
And the appearance of preferential treatment in his case was linked to that of his wife, the junior status of women minister who was allowed to board a plane last month despite throwing a public, obscenity-laced tantrum at Charlottetown airport.
Kory Teneycke, a former communications director to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said both Jaffer and Guergis owe Canadians a big apology and a thorough explanation of what happened in each case.
“You’ve got to come clean and you’ve got to show contrition and in doing that it allows everyone to move on. Half addressing it or skirting it doesn’t allow people to turn the page,” Teneycke said in an interview.
Moreover, Teneycke said the couple owes it to the Conservative party and the government to clear the air since both incidents have hurt the Tory “brand.”