Luc Lavoie resigns as Mulroney's spokesman... and leaves a little hint on the way out.

Ah yes, Impolitical pulls together another great summary. A part of that was the fact that Luc Lavoie, the voice of Brian Mulroney since Mulroney left parliament, (it would be erronious to suggest he left politics), has resigned his position as Mulroney's spokesman. It is interesting to note what he said, how he said it and what he didn't say.

The long-time spokesman who has resolutely defended Brian Mulroney throughout the controversy involving Karlheinz Schreiber says he can no longer speak for the former prime minister because he cannot devote the required time.

Luc Lavoie, the baritone-voiced former Mulroney communications director who has spoken on behalf of Mr. Mulroney since the latter retired from politics, said yesterday he gave up the duties about a week ago in full agreement with Mr. Mulroney.

“As this affair kept developing, it became very clear that I just could not dedicate the time to serve him well as I did in the 1990s,” Mr. Lavoie said in an interview. “As this became more and more demanding, I don't think he was well served.”

Alright. That's an honest enough statement. We have no idea what the arrangement is between Mulroney and Lavoie and Lavoie may be assessing what future demands will be put on him to deal with the media storm surrounding Mulroney. No matter who holds such a position, he/she would be in great demand to answer media questions.

Another matter, however, is that Lavoie was losing patience and last week erupted after being asked when Mulroney paid taxes on the cash that Karlheinz Schreiber gave him. It's possible that Lavoie saw himself being caught up in something from which there is no escape for Mulroney. In short, bail now before the real crap starts to get spread around.

“Mr. Mulroney is fighting for his integrity and the integrity of his family, and I'm fully sympathetic to what he's going through and I wish him the best, believe me, and I still consider him a dear friend and always will.”

Communications directors are smart enough to know how to craft phrases and that one says a lot. At no point does he defend Mulroney. He simply wishes him "the best". If Lavoie was possessed of the belief that Mulroney is innocent of allegations against him, why didn't he depart saying so?

Asked if he had ever felt personally uneasy about speaking on the Schreiber matter, Mr. Lavoie said he hadn't.

At one point in 1999, Mr. Lavoie said no money had ever changed hands between Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Mulroney. It was later revealed that Mr. Mulroney had received $300,000 from Mr. Schreiber.

Mr. Lavoie said his remarks at the time were with respect to the sale of Airbus planes to Air Canada.

“I was talking about Airbus,” he said. “No money changed hands. No money went to Brian Mulroney when it has to do with Airbus. I said that in 1999 and if I was still a spokesperson I would say the same thing. Now what happened after he left office is something else.”

KABOOM!! You can't put the pin back in that one.

It would have been more than entertaining to listen to conversations between Mulroney and Lavoie as the week developed. Lavoie was willing to speak for and in defense of Brian Mulroney as long as it was about Airbus, but anything else is too much of a minefield. In short, put the way Lavoie put it, he would feel uncomfortable speaking to Mulroney's activities beyond the Airbus deal.