Belinda the Neophyte

What is Belinda Stronach thinking? Does she think that she can join public life when she became an MP and not have her personal life scrutinized?

You've probably heard by now that Belinda has been named as the "other woman" by the wife of tough guy NHLer Tie Domi, in her divorce papers submission. In an interview, Belinda said that she did not want to comment, because the impending divorce was a matter for the courts. I can accept that. Why muck up an already messy situation? But she went on to state that her private life was not for public consumption! Pardon?!?!? Tell us Belinda, since when has any public figure, especially a political figure, not have their dirty laundry hung out for the world to see? And you haven't exactly flown under the radar. Your very public break up with Peter McKay, coming to mind. And to top it off, you say that this wouldn't have been an issue if you were a male politician. Give yourself a shake!

Public figures, be they politicians, actors, or just plain filthy rich, male OR female, are subject to public scrutiny. Because for some reason, many people feel the need to read about their favourite celebrities. Just look at the sales figures for supermarket tabloids, and celebrity magazines. Why is that? Are we truly interested in their lives. Do they represent a world we'd like to live in, or do our own humdrum lives need spicing up, as we live vicariously through the latest spat between Angelina and Jennifer?

Regardless of the answer, the fact remains that Belinda's relationship with Tie has been outed and people want to know. Since people want to know, journalists are going to ask. Denying them information will just cause them to dig deeper. Belinda, take a cue from your ex, Peter. Recently, on a visit to Halifax by Condoleeza Rice, there were some suggestions that there was chemistry between she and Peter. Did Peter issue statements? Did he deny any relationship? No. He kept his mouth shut and a one or two day story remained that, instead of carrying on for several days, and in many different media sources.

Hey, wait a second, dear reader. Let's just step back a second. Maybe Belinda has an agenda here? Maybe she knows this is a one or two day story and she wants to extend it by employing these tactics? After all, as it's been said before, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Maybe she's just trying to get more press to fuel her political ambition? She's not heading for a Liberal leadership candidacy this round, maybe she'll try next time? Maybe she'll use this incident to gain notoriety? The next Liberal leadership run probably won't happen for a few years. By that time, people will have forgotten about this. What do you think? Could someone who failed to take more than one year of university, and was president of Magna because daddy owned it, have enough wherewithal to accomplish such a campaign?

I leave you to be the judge.

Wings Over The World