Wynne, Comfortable in her new skin
It didn’t Kathleen Wynne very long to process the life changing victory that catapulted her into arguably the second most powerful political position in Canada – not to mention the history books as the nation’s first openly gay leader.
It was clear, as she appeared for her first official public news conference that the “headiness” of the night before was as much history, as the kind she made with victory over Sandra Pupatello at Maple Leaf Gardens the night before . Wynne had already assumed the responsibilities of the office after only a few hours of celebration and sleep.
I have known and seen others’, newly elected to leadership roles, wake up the next morning still giddy, stunned and unsure of what it was supposed to feel like. I clearly remember David Miller telling me the morning after he won the Mayoral election in Toronto that he woke up thinking ” Crikey, I’m the Mayor “. Bob Rae was ( justifiably ) stunned the morning he woke up as the first NDP Premier after David Peterson’s Liberal government was turfed for calling an election way before one was necessary or wanted. In both cases, their first news conference was void of substance and stature. But not Wynne. She appeared confident, comfortable in her new skin ( literally ) and conveyed the stature her new life demands.
In response to a question about her gay-ness and why she made a point of raising it during her Convention speech, she made it clear that she was not, nor was she ever going to be a gay activist, pointing out that her circumstances can ” help others be less fearful” but she’s not going to spend next months talking about it. ” Forging personal relationships with Andrea Horwath and Tim Hudak” is the way she plans to deal with the minority legislature and doesn’t that seem like a logical thing to do ? – welcome to a woman’s way of doing things.