Blaming "great inner turmoil" for his actions, New Democrat MP Svend Robinson is stepping aside after admitting he stole an expensive diamond ring at a public jewelry auction on Good Friday. Robinson, Canada's first openly gay MP, who has never been far from the headlines during a quarter-century in the House of Commons, made the stunning revelations during an emotional news conference yesterday in his campaign office in suburban Vancouver.
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"Something just snapped in this moment of utter irrationality," Robinson, 52, tears running down his cheeks and voice breaking, told reporters. His partner, Max Riveron, and fellow MP Libby Davies consoled him by rubbing his back and offering hugs and handkerchiefs. "As you can imagine, this has been a nightmare," he said. "I cannot believe that it has happened, but I am human and I have failed."
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Robinson, who has earned a reputation for generating controversy and tremendous political theatre over the years, got support across party lines with yesterday's revelations, although some critics in British Columbia were less gentle in their assessment of events. But few could dispute that an MP whose theatrics have included being arrested twice in anti-logging protests, heckling visiting U.S. president Ronald Reagan in Parliament, denouncing Israeli policies while visiting the West Bank and spending the last moments with Sue Rodriguez during her assisted suicide, did not steal the show once again. Robinson, first elected as a New Democratic Party MP in 1979 and re-elected in the six federal elections since then, said he is taking an immediate medical leave and will step down as a candidate in Burnaby-Douglas "while these issues remain unresolved."
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But he did not resign as an MP or say that he will not run in the next election if the legal matters are settled before Prime Minister Paul Martin sends Canadians to the polls. But if Martin calls the election this spring, Robinson will likely not represent his party. |