The fear is palpable.
Mr. Ignatieff has created, with one speech, a new dynamic in Canadian politics.
The Conservatives, who were already showing a great deal of fear, are now terrified. So much so they are considering doing a deal with the NDP.
Yes, yes, yes, I know that Jason Kenney and some other Conservative officials have made statements that they would not make any deals with the NDP. That is just a ploy. It is to reassure the base that they will not give away the farm to stay in power and it is to try to convince the NDP to keep their demands "reasonable" but make no mistake if Mr. Harper believes his government will fall he will do anything to prevent it. November should prove that to everybody.
The NDP for their part have suddenly found a new desire to "make Parliament work". Of course, when it was the Liberals trying to do that they called it surrender. Now they are contemplating it and claiming it is not the same thing. My God how the NDP has fallen since the days of Ed Broadbent. The hypocracy is breathtaking. However, make no mistake, their new found desire is all the result of the increased pucker factor for them going into the new session. Gone is their safety net. Now their decisions will have consequences.
Even Gilles Duceppe has made a play for the government's hand. Of course, his demands are hopelessly unreasonable but we all know how negotiations work. You start off with unreasonable demands and then negotiate something more reasonable.
The only question is which one them will wind up being the eventual winner in the government handout sweepstakes.
As for the Liberals, they have been in the driver's seat for months and they have finally decided to take the wheel from the rest. I would caution those Liberals crowing about the new strategy and how it will lead to an inevitable election victory this fall. Things change in politics and if they change too much for the worst between now and October 1 the Liberals may be forced to find a way to finesse this new hardline. And make no mistake, this announcement has just put a great big target on their backs for all of their opponents to shoot at. Expect all three other parties in Parliament as well as much of the media to be taking pot shots at that target for the next month.
The next few weeks should be interesting.
2 comments:
I agree, ottlib, but look at it more as caution is always in order.
I tend to just think this restores the natural order of things (if there is such an animal). The Liberals start acting like an opposition. If Harper strings the Bloc and/or the NDP along, fine. I somewhat doubt it will, but maybe something good can actually come of it.
But the Liberals can only gain from having a spine. I think it's been holding them back for months, despite the basic progress they've made (which really only got them back to a more natural base).
And that holds true even if the end result is an election.
The night after Ignatieff's statement donations quadrupled. It can only get better on that front.
He's already done it once to save his butt so I wonder if Harper will take away democracy again & prorogue Parliament if he knows he'll lose a non-confidence vote. Wouldn't put it past him. The optics & outcry on that would be interesting.
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