Fredericton — It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well, both Premier Gallant and self-declared premier-elect Blaine Higgs must be feeling very flattered this morning as photos surfaced of the two men dressed as one another while attending a government Halloween party this weekend at Fredericton’s esteemed Twenty/20 club.
A Manatee reporter was on site after receiving a personal invitation from Gallant.
“Don’t you just love it?” asked Gallant, twirling the ends of his fake mustache. “I decided to go with the old, mustached version of ol’ Higgsy because he was a lot cooler back then. He should bring the mustache back — maybe then he wouldn’t be so friggin’ boring and stupid all the time.”
The premier was wearing what can only be described as an old man wig, thick framed glasses that were much too big for his beautiful face, a grey mustache and a suit that smelled like cloves and mothballs.
“That’s exactly what that smell is,” cheered Gallant, obviously impressed with our reporter’s olfactory ability. “I wanted to smell as old as I could so I dug out my grandpa’s suit, mashed those things together and rubbed it all over myself. I’m wearing some Old Spice aftershave, too, but I think the cloves are probably covering that smell.”
Higgs was wearing a designer shirt only buttoned three-quarters of the way, a dark blue, untied tie around his neck, blue Edwin jeans and a pair of Vans skate shoes. The focal point of the costume was the hairdo, which was spiked sharply with freshly frosted tips.
“Hey dude, wasssssuuup?” he said in an obvious attempt to recreate the long-forgotten Budweiser commercials from 1999. “I’m just chillin’ here at this dope party, yo. I just got a mad haircut, got the Axe going on from head to toe with the gel, the spray and the body wash. I’m maxing, ya know?”
Higgs claimed he had no idea that Gallant was dressed as him and that he didn’t see the resemblance at all.
“Look at him smiling like that — I never smile. And where’s his pocket watch? His shoes aren’t pointy, and my mustache looked much better than that one — that looks like one of Coon’s eyebrows, for goodness sake.”
Gallant, by contrast, suggested Higgs had never looked better.
The two men seemed to bond throughout the night, engaging in shots, dance-offs, an arm-wrestling contest won by Gallant, and they were even seen taking selfies together, bringing a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe they can put their differences aside and work together for the future of New Brunswick.