A senior Canadian diplomat posted abroad has egg on his Facebook after accidentally sharing his views with the world, including his rather undiplomatic opinion that Stephen Harper is a "terrible leader."
One might think an experienced official in a foreign service obsessed with security would know social networking websites are just slightly more confidential than smoke signals. Apparently not.
Steven Rheault-Kihara, a 46-year-old veteran diplomat and Canada's public relations attache in Bangkok, recently left his Facebook "wall" wide open for anyone to read.
The 36 pages of exchanges over the past 18 months between the dip and his pals -- one is a high-ranking adviser in the PM's own department -- provide some unusual reading, especially the diplomat's thoughts on the prime minister he is representing abroad.
The day after Harper's surprise singing debut at the National Arts Centre last month, for instance, Rheault-Kihara wrote on Facebook: "As much as I think he's a terrible leader, I thought that Stephen Harper gave a good show last night."
Last December, as Canada was facing the possibility of a coalition government led by Stephane Dion, our man in Bangkok wrote: "If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose between Harper or Dion as PM, my answer is simple: Pull the trigger, please."
The Conservatives' controversial cancellation of some arts grants in Quebec before the last election left Rheault-Kihara "lamenting rednecks cutting arts funding. Cheap -----s."
The Canadian embassy's chief PR official has also had a few undiplomatic things to say on Facebook about Thailand, among other countries.
In May, for instance, he was "dismayed" that the Thai courts had cleared officials involved in the killing of 85 protesters in 2004.
"Impunity for such heinous disregard for human life stains the soul of this nation."
Can't argue with his sentiment, but it's not exactly a ticket to the Thai cocktail circuit.
One of his most entertaining exchanges with his pals was over our recent column on the latest Foreign Affairs audits that found embassy life not always as taxpayers might hope.
The diplomat wrote that "quoting from an audit report is the laziest form of journalism, but then again, no-one(sic) ever accused Greg Weston of being a journalist."
Rheault-Kihara may not think much of audit reports, but he certainly understands the perils of taxpayers in limo-land. On Feb. 19 of this year, for instance, Rheault-Kihara flew from Bangkok to Ottawa for a week of "training."
The next day, he posted the following on Facebook: "Just landed in Ottawa only to find training was cancelled. Nothing left to do but party, I guess."
Over the ensuing week, the diplomat complained of the cold, said he was "touching base with old friends," and finally flew back to Bangkok eight days later "disappointed but determined."
One of his friends on Facebook remarked: "Ah yes, taxpayer dollars once again well spent. Bravo!"
Two days after we requested an official reaction to this story from the Department of Foreign Affairs, we were told at press time that something was "still in the works."
The department also said it would not facilitate an interview with Rheault-Kihara.
Maybe we'll try Facebook.
