On communications

In reporting on the Cons' game of shuffling top civil servants around with little apparent purpose, the Star also reports on a moderately surprising internal development:

Since the last parliamentary session ended, the Conservative government has tried to strengthen communications staffing in ministers' offices in advance of the crucial fall session.

Up to five directors of communications, including those in Indian Affairs and Heritage, have moved or are expected to soon move, with other staffing changes possible in the weeks ahead.

Now, it's probably true that at least that many Con cabinet members and have said things they'd like to take back during the course of the spring session. But the vast majority of those incidents appeared to be based on off-the-cuff answers to questions, where communications staff would have had no real opportunity to stop the Cons' own personalities from intruding on PMS' desire to control the message. And considering that the actual planned messages from the Cons seem likely to once again be limited to the mindless repetition of a new set of "priorities", it's remarkable that so many of the Cons' communications directors managed to do poorly enough in their own roles to be replaced.