Peter MacKay vs @PeterMacKay: A showdown for the Tory leadership

Even as he slouches towards Conservative leadership Bethlehem, Peter MacKay is fighting a war most of us cannot see and none of us could ever hope to understand. I am here to tell the story of MacKay’s battle against a nemesis of his own creation. I seek to preserve some record of the terrible and historic struggle being waged in our very midst between Almost Certain For Reasons Nobody Can Quite Put Their Finger On Conservative Leader Peter MacKay and his nemesis, @PeterMacKay, his apparently sentient and rogue Twitter account.

On Feb. 1, @PeterMacKay up and sent out a tweet that included images of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in different yoga poses. The caption complained that “while running for leader of the Liberal Party, Trudeau’s campaign expensed $876.95 in yoga sessions and spa bills for Justin Trudeau. Liberals can’t be trusted.”

It is (it’s still up) a very silly tweet, as many were quick to point out. It’s hard to pass off $876.95 for some yoga classes and perhaps the odd massage or health club visit, seven years ago, as political dynamite. In fact, it would be charitable to believe that @PeterMacKay sincerely thought the sum itself would whip Canadians into a frenzy, but the sum itself wasn’t the point, of course.