Buckler Exits Stage Right

Another casualty of the Harper government’s shake-up in the PMO it seems. Sandra Buckler, the PM’s “contentious” (read “bitchy and controlling”) director of communications is stepping down for “family reasons” (gotta love that old chestnut, it just never gets tired). The Globe & Mail has more.

So, does this signal a shift to a “kinder, gentler” Stephen Harper, one that’s more accessible to the media? Rehabilitating his image with the press corps might not be a bad idea as the party gears up to an almost inevitable election in the fall.

Update: A predictably fond farewell from the folks at Canadian Cynic. “As Director of There-Will-Be-No-Communications, she herded the Conservative kittens and kept them from losing their mittens in front of the bad, bad people that we call the press. Sandra was the architect of the micro-managing, message massaging of megalomuffin Steve.” Heh.

Update2: “Congratulations Sandra Buckler (and Ian Brodie), for just beating the coming into force of the lobbying act! Now you can totally go back to doing what you know best ... Did Canada’s foremost expert on lobbying law™ tip you off?” Ouch!

Update3: Shorter Uncommon Truths — Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo! You know, if you go through the list of descriptions that are supposed to be so egregiously skewed and/or malicious, they’re all quite accurate statements of fact. Buckler wasn’t popular with the press corps; she did bully journalists on occasion; she was stingy with information; and so on. Boy, the truth hurts, eh?