Stockwell Day loves his murse

Parliament is prorogued until March 3, so in the meantime, we’re concentrating on other, more important aspects of politicians: their accessories. Treasury Board president Stockwell Day was spotted carrying a leather bag to a cabinet meeting at Meech Lake yesterday and explained that it’s not just women who need a purse in which to carry all their gadgets and documents.

“I call it ‘murse’ because I carry one,” he told the Globe. “That’s a male purse. We don’t confine it just to purses.” Earlier on CTV’s Power Play, Day was asked about how he would tighten purse strings, and he retorted that “purse” is a gender-biased term and that “men spend, too, so we also need ‘murse’ tightening.”

So what’s inside? The contents include his BlackBerry, legal documents, passport, wallet, a change purse, business cards, mints, hand sanitizer, a photo of his family and a book for the road. No word yet on whether he’d consider wearing mantyhose.

• Behold the ministerial murse [Globe and Mail]

• What does Stockwell Day carry in his murse? [Globe and Mail]