Politics and Commemoration

Just when I thought the effects of the political maneuverings in Canada couldn't get worse, there comes this: PM tries to explain V-E Day absence.
Long story short, the party leaders decided to stay in the capital to ensure that neither got any sort of upper hand, rather than take part in very important V-E commemoration ceremonies. The wartime connections between Canada and Holland run very deep, since the Dutch consider the Canadians the liberators of their country. There had been ceremonies honouring the veterans in the Netherlands for days before May 8, including having planes drop poppies on the men as they paraded through towns. That our political leaders, the men who run and who hope to run our country and represent us internationally, could not put aside their politics, at least for a day, is simply despicable. It's fortunate for them and for the country that the Dutch seem to not have taken offense, but the veterans will not forgive them quite so easily. And I'm not sure the public should either.