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There comes a time in any young government’s life, after it has won the heart of a nation by promising to be all that is transparent and open and sunny, when it must finally turn its attention to settling down for the long-term – which, it imagines, is only possible if it exhibits precisely none of those qualities.

Voters will reward a party for seeming honest; they will punish it, the party believes, for practising honesty. Of course, a government won’t actually come out and say that it’s changed its mind about transparency. That would be too transparent. It might be punished for that.

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The Liberal government has reached the age of obfuscation. Already, it’s suppressing financial data and circulating secret memos about none other than its plan for increased openness. But promising transparency only to withhold it isn’t unique to the Liberals. It’s not even unique to Canada. We live in a world of political opacity, and it won’t be illuminated by trusting politicians simply because they promise to be trustworthy.