The mechanical podium, which can go up or down to accommodate speakers of different heights, has been lauded for creating a more level playing field. But some are wondering whether there was really a problem.
VICTORIA — It was a sizable British Columbia political issue that called for a one-size-fits-all solution, says Premier David Eby, who at six-foot-seven is the province's tallest leader.Eby towers over most people at news conferences but is juxtaposed with Selina Robinson, minister of post-secondary education and future skills, who at four-foot-11 often needs to stand on boxes to reach the microphone.
The premier said people have expressed surprise — and thanks — as the podium lifts or lowers to accommodate their height. But, some concerns about the podium have been raised by the Opposition BC United and a communications expert who suggests the structure reinforces old-school political traditions. While Eby's podium is not the biggest news story at the legislature, it symbolizes the stereotyped visual culture of politics, said David Black, a political communications expert at Victoria's Royal Roads University.
"When you break the visual code or political style or tamper with conservative visual culture when it comes to politics, you step on the message," he said. "It becomes, fairly or not, read as a gaffe, sometimes a career-ending gaffe."
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