Friday, February 26, 2010
VERITAS: FUMBLE RECOVERY - GUERGIS GETS APOLOGY IN SAME NEWS CYCLE
We seem to have more and more examples of the public apology to dissect here at TD&F, and the latest comes courtesy of Helena Guergis, federal minister of state for the status of women. She threw a hissy fit at the Charlottetown airport, ranting at security staff and one of her own aides after being made to remove her boots as part of the pre-flight screening process. As word of the incident reached the media (with help from Liberal MP Wayne Easter), Guergis wisely issued a full and unequivocal apology for her behaviour – “an unusually abject mea culpa,” as described by the Toronto Star. Taking full lumps for her outburst was the right thing to do, and it was also a good move to ensure that it was done within the same news cycle, ensuring that the apology was part of the news of the outburst itself. The only thing worse than having to apologize for a public meltdown is having to do it seemingly in response to a round of bad press – something Guergis has avoided.
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2 comments:
No dice. You can't unscramble and egg and you can't weasel your way out of something that happened a week ago. She apologized for getting caught, not for what she did. This is a fumble followed shortly with hallow words.
While it's always best to get in front of a negative story as opposed to after and under it, don't you think that the fact that she left out details that, when they were revealed, demonstrate that she really outdid a lot of hissy fits.
In every airport in the US, her behaviour would have her arrested. She tried to open a locked security door and had to be stopped by security. MP Redway lost his position under the Mulroney Government for making a joke about a gun in an airport, and that was PRE 9-11.
I don't think this is going to go as well for Guergis as you seem to believe it is.
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