Do the Federal Liberals Even Have a Future?

To read how Janine Krieber views the Liberals these days would certainly imply that they don't have much of a future. However, just like those pundits from Question Period this morning, she, unfortunately comes off as someone with a case of sour grapes. Perhaps that's even a part of it. However, she is on to something. She must be: that infamous Facebook posting was quickly taken down. If this was simply a case of bitterness, why the urgency to take down the posting? Perhaps she should have used a nom de plume; perhaps it could be taken more seriously and would look less like a wife with sour grapes. She does express probably what a lot of folks are thinking these days, including Liberal MPs and other party insiders themselves.


Either way, the fact that she took down the posting doesn't erase it. Journalists and pundits are covering it. Folks are paying attention.


Krieber even hints at throwing her support behind another party. Who would that be though? The N.D.P.? No matter what party; this would be problematic  given her husband is still a Liberal M.P. representing St-Laurent as he has for many years. Yes, there was a hint from Iggy way back when about replacing him with some female 'star' a la Nathalie Le Prohon, but we didn't hear anything more about that.  I'm sure party insiders pointed out that that would be an error given Dion has represented St-Laurent for many years. If the good folks of St-Laurent keep voting him in, they must have confidence in him to represent their interests. Is Dion still being pushed out the door? Would Peter Donolo and the new staff be pushing for that?


According to the latest Ipsos Reid Poll, The N.D.P. have jumped 6 points to 19% support nationally. The Liberals are at 24% and The Harpercons are at 37%: well within grasp of a majority (After all, Chretien had won a majority with only 37% of the vote). The Bloc and The Greens have 9% and 10% respectively.


What could that mean?  Patrick R  wrote about this with, what I observed to be a certain amount of enthusiasm. Hmm, Patrick, enthusiastic about the N.D.P. numbers; this can't be good. Then, of course this would make Patrick and other like-minded folks happy. This would split the left and the Harpercons get their majority, coming up the middle. Whether that would entail an N.D.P. or Liberal official opposition, it wouldn't matter. Stevie would be unleashed with a majority and thus his true Reform, NCC , Ultra-right wing conservatism would come shining through. It would be Bush-era U.S.A. mimicked.


I found what she says below of particular interest: 


"The Liberal party is in a free fall, and it won't recover. Like all the liberal parties in Europe, it will become a poor little thing at the mercy of ephemeral coalitions. For having refused the historic coalition that could have placed it at the head of the left, it will be punished by history."


Does she mean what a lot of folks are thinking? Should the Liberals and the N.D.P. take a page from the Harpercon playbook and merge? It's something I've been saying for a long time. Something a lot of folks, even those left of center can't seem to agree on and don't really talk about it.


A lot of folks may not have liked the idea of that proposed coalition last year. This is why it is important that they merge before the next general election.


In spite of the best of intentions, the hiring of Peter Donolo and the new staff may well be too little too late. Iggy must go. However, this will probably only happen later rather than sooner.


I found this article from the Canadian Press today regarding what Peter Donolo's intentions may be.  Interesting this would be released just after Janine Krieber's Facebook postings. 


While Donolo is not revealing all of his secrets, I'm wondering if replacing Iggy down the road is a possibility in his mind as well?


He's closed the Liberal election war room for the immediate future. There will be no talk of an election for at least seven months, maybe even a year, according to the Canadian Press. Other than turning his academic resume into a positive and to be more on the offensive Donolo also says that he is pretty much going to have Iggy 'be himself'; to 'unpackage him' rather than to package him. What could this mean? Does he simply want to observe Iggy to see if he can be salvaged or not?


Even though, the campaign mode is turned off, The Liberals will be 'more aggressive and focussed' during question period and they will be countering Harpercon's vicious attack ads head-on. That's good. It's about time.

Whatever the case, I intrepret today's piece from Canadian Press to hint that this is Iggy's last chance to appeal to Canadian voters.  I dare say that if Iggy doesn't improve his numbers in seven months like that article suggested, I think Donolo will recommend a changing of the guard. Maybe even a merger or at least some kind of agreement with  the N.D.P.

This is all well and good to turn off the campaign mode, close the election war room and no election talk for a minimum of seven months, but what if Stevie decides to provoke one sooner? He is well within majority range. He must realize that if the N.D.P.'s numbers hold or go up slightly, he wouldn't need that magic 40% to come up the middle with a majority. As I've pointed out in my posting from last night, more and more Canadians are supporting Stevie and in spite of their "I don't want an election" whining last September, they do want an election yesterday if it can ensure Harpercon majority. 


I'm wondering if Donolo has a plan for that potential scenario? 


I don't doubt Donolo's capabilities given his resume, but I think Iggy must go now, because of the above mentioned scenario.  A new leader must be selected ASAP. And no, NOT Bob Rae. I know, he's there. But no; that would just be another disaster. Do the research. If one has to be plucked out of retirement, so be it. What's more, it's time for a merger of  the N.D.P. and the Liberals.


Do the Federal Liberals have a future? Not without a lot of help. Not with Iggy at the helm. They will be needing some kind of collaboration, if not a merger with the N.D.P.


Side note: something else of interest: Neither the Harpercons, nor the opposition parties have succeeded in eliminating the raison d'etre for the Bloc Quebecois. Why would this be, considering sovereignty is on the back burner and has been for some time now. Gilles Duceppe didn't even promote separation in the last federal election campaign. A lot of Quebec federalists be they Francophone or Anglophone: rural or urban still vote for the Bloc. This is something all these parties should think about.

Disappointing Although Not Surprising

Today is indeed a dark day. Waking up to find that race between the Bloc`s Nancy Gagnon and Harpercon Star, Bernard Genereux was won by the latter. He did it without the help of Jean Charest no less. This was one race our premier chose not to involve himself with. True, Genereux was the popular mayor of  one of the village in a collection of villages known as Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup. Yes, like so many rural regions of Quebec, they are generally conservative thinkers who actually would cheer for the abolition of the Long Gun Registry and would be turned off at Gilles Duceppe`s proposal of coming up with a similar registry for Quebec. Also like most rural regions of Quebec, the Catholic Church still has an influence over village life. However, it was a Bloc strong hold for a long time and given that these folks are also uni-lingual French and separatist for the most part and their native son, Mario has left politics entirely in favour for a career in TV, I thought Gagnon would squeak through. The pundits like Jean Lapierre on CTV's Question Period even predicted that. Hell, even Mario Dumont was nowhere near this campaign. All looked good for The Bloc to maintain Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup even if only by a margin.

It was not to be.  Indeed a dark day.

Gilles Duceppe is wondering if the riding was punishing Paul Crete, the Bloc MP for resigning so soon into his mandate to run provincially. I don't think that's it, Gilles, I think it's more like 242 Million Clam bribery scheme for the riding last Friday.

Of course, simply because the Harpercons don't know the meaning of the words gracious and humble, they had to rub salt in the wound:

“Mr. Duceppe, the population also sent you a clear message; the Bloc does not have the monopoly on Quebec values.”

No, Dimitri Soudas and the other Harpercons: the good folks of Montmagny-l'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup just know a good deal when they have it dangling in front of their noses. If not for that, I'm sure the riding would have remained in the hands of the Bloc. Pundits predicted as much in spite of the popularity of Genereux as Mayor of La Pocatiere.

Also, Mr. Soudas, you may have Quebec City and that disgraced clown in the Beauce and that hill billy up north in Roberval, but that doesn't mean you understand Quebec values as well as the Bloc Quebecois. Mr. Soudas, your boss only has appeal to hillbillies, church folks and farmers in some of the regions of Quebec. Try to make a dent in the Greater Montreal Area now.

I also think that the passing of the private members' bill, scrapping the long gun registry and the fact that Duceppe is proposing to create one for Quebec had something to with it.  I have noticed alot of news pages and bloggers saying that all of Quebec support the Long Gun Registry. That's ok, It wouldn't be the first time those outside of Quebec misunderstood Quebecers. If truth be told, one would be hard pressed to find a Quebecer outside the Greater Montreal Area who supported the Long Gun Registry or supports gun control for that matter.

What does this result and the results from the other three ridings mean? 

Hochelaga is a non-issue; as mentioned previously, a chimpanzee can win in Hochelaga if it were Bloc. 

The other two ridings were predictable. Although, I have to wonder how the folks of  Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley would vote for Harper's Neo-cons given their poor treatment toward those people.

I find it strange that bloggers and journalists call this Iggy's test or Iggy's loss. Those ridings were never his to lose in the first place. Yes, had the Liberals been able to steal one of those four ridings, it would be the shocking booster the party needed, but nobody believed that would happen. I don't even think Iggy believed it. Otherwise, why didn't he run so-called 'stars' in any of those four ridings? I don't think anybody really knew who the four Liberal candidates were.

My fear is: given the Harpercon wins in Nova Scotia and the collection of villages down river in Quebec;  does this pave the way to a sure Harpercon majority come this spring when a general federal election would be surely held??

The only warning I would have for Stevie is: they voted for your guy: make good on your bribe now, or else, if you don't, I venture to guess that if a general election were held this spring, Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup will go back to the Bloc and I think this time, it won't be Nancy Gagnon; he will more than likely find an old Parti Quebecois Star to run against the good former mayor of La Pocatiere.  I think we can now put this collection of villages in the Lower St-Lawrence in the category of bellwether ridings. 

While I don't like to see promises from politician's broken. I will make an exception and I do hope that Stevie doesn't deliver the goods to the good folks of Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup.

Journalists May Have it Wrong About Quebec By-Election

I am speaking mainly of L. Ian MacDonald's opinion piece in National Post and Chantal Hebert's piece in the Toronto Star, regarding one Quebec riding up for grabs down river: Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup. In both of those pieces and in others, I'm sure, they presume the new 'star' candidate, Bernard Genereux will have support of Premier Jean Charest in the upcoming by-election. It is said that he has close ties to Charest's Liberals. I think they're assuming too quickly that Charest will back Genereux.

As someone who has spent time in that part of Quebec, the folks of Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere-du-Loup, I can honestly say that, although  I believe in the end, the Bloc will remain there,  it could be close. I also never believed that provincial riding would go Liberal, neither. One never can tell how these elections can turn out with certainty.  It was the heartland of the short-lived Mario Dumont Action Democratique du Quebec, a sort-of reincarnation of Maurice Duplessis's old Union Nationale party. The A.D.Q. still exist but, without it's native son, Mario Dumont, Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere du Loup won't be such an easy win for Genereux. 

These people are conservative for the most part, rural, and like so many rural regions in  Quebec, the Catholic Church still has some influence over their lives. However, these are unilingual French speaking people who are generally pro-separatist.

These journalists like MacDonald and Hebert are saying Genereux has close ties to the Charest Liberals. I'm wondering how close is it really?  Do they think it's enough to get Genereux through? I'm not so sure about that.

We must remember during last year's federal election, Charest was none too happy with Stevie and his Harpercons for cozying up to Dumont. That, along with the cuts to arts and culture Stevie announced just after calling the 2008 election were enough for Charest to campaign for the Bloc. It ended up costing dearly for Stevie and Harpercons in Quebec. Has Charest really changed his tune where it concerns Stevie?

Given Charest's loyalties to Brian Mulroney, and Stevie's absence from the anniversary party of Mulroney's 1984 win,  and the rift between Stevie and Mulroney over the Karlheinz Schreiber affair; Charest isn't likely to help Stevie. It has been suggested that ol' Stevie start playing nice with Charest if he expects to get anywhere in Quebec. That is all well and good, but it may not even be in Charest's political interests to start playing ball with Stevie. Depending on what you read, there has been speculation about this term as premier of Quebec may be his last. Although he said as recently as last August that he wants to stay on, being prime-minister of Canada with the Tories has always been an aspiration of his. He is still young enough for a political career change and if Stevie doesn't get a majority in the next Federal election, he will have to resign, thus, leaving the door open for Charest to run for Tory leadership. He is someone who could get a Tory majority in Canada.

One thing curious as of late, I have not found anything to suggest that Charest is campaigning for either Genereux or Nancy Gagnon, the Bloc candidate for this By-election. He appears to be staying out of it. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing for either party. However, the fact that he's not campaigning for Genereux brings up the question: how close are Genereux's ties to the Charest Liberals, really? Have journalists like Hebert and MacDonald overestimated these close ties? I suppose Genereux might have gotten more support if he ran for the Bloc.

Charest may come out in support of one of the parties just before the by-election, although, that might not be too likely, as he has other problems of his own on the provincial front. He wants to lower Quebec's deficit as quickly as possible with measures like introducing service fees for some governement services, hike in Hydro fees, introducing tuition fees for  CEGEPs, something that will no doubt get a rise from the student population who tend to be separatist leaning. He also intends to raise the sales tax come January. I speculate that trying to sell these measures to Quebecers will make him too busy to worry about a by-election down river. 

One thing I must question about Gilles Duceppe though. Why waste a star like Daniel Paille in Hochelaga, one of the Bloc's safest seats? Hell, Duceppe can run a chimpanzee in Hochelaga and they would still win. Paille should perhaps be running in Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Riviere-du-Loup. Oh well, I wish Nancy Gagnon all the luck, because she will need it. 

While I'm not a separatist, I view the Bloc as 'my enemy's enemy is my friend', thus a Bloc win down river could well keep Stevie and Harpercons from making any gains here in Quebec. It's bad enough that they could take the B.C. and N.S. ridings. 

Anybody Going to Swallow Stevie's Upcoming Poison Pill?

A poison pill indeed & this time, all will swallow it. According to the latest Ekos poll, the Harpercons are well within grasp of a majority.  I know, I know, Canadians don't want an election....supposedly. If one were to read the comment boards of this article, it would seem that most are cheering for the oncoming Stevie majority. Don't be fooled, they want an election yesterday. Stevie knows it.


So, what's next? A poison pill of course. Another confidance motion that all the opposition parties are sure to not vote on.


What would it be? Well, one thing I can think of is not only scrapping the gun registry but also waiving the registration fees. Now, here is the catch 22: The N.D.P., the Liberals & the Bloc have all been always for keeping the gun registry.  They would look foolish if they voted along with such a motion & I don't even think Jack will sacrifice his principles that far.  Then we go to election where Stevie can finally have his precious majority. Stevie would find himself in a win-win situation. If one party does somehow vote along with this, the gun registry is scrapped & if the motion doesn't pass, we go back to the polls & Stevie can get his majority & he would scrap the gun registry & most likely, eliminate gun control altogether.


Another possibility is the possibility of an extension past the 2011 deadline in Afghanistan which I wrote about earlier this evening here.  I don't think it's a coincidence the CBC would be publishing this today, shortly after printing the latest EKOS poll, nor is it a coincidence that Petey would be talking about this today. Whether or not Stevie made some kind of backroom deal with President Obama, this surely must become a confidance motion. 


Again, none of the opposition parties will support this. Layton voted against extending the mission to 2011 in 2008; should he vote for another extension this time; he would be hammering the final nail in his political coffin. Iggy still plans to go against anything & everything & this wouldn't be any different. In spite of the fact that Stephane Dion voted with the Harpercons for the extension, the Liberals have a new leader & thusfar, Iggy has proven to distance himself from Dion. The Bloc won't vote for it because, Quebec is where the Afghan war is the least popular. 


However, unlike the gun registry, could extending the war in Afghanistan lower Stevie's numbers? Only time will tell.  It seems that many Canadians, even outside Quebec are tired of this war & want to bring the troops home now.  IF the war is that unpopular, Stevie's numbers should reflect this. Could it be wishful thinking on my part?


On the other hand, Canadians have proven that they will sacrifice anything to get a precious majority in parliament so they won't have to worry about fitting five minutes into their schedules to go to the polls for at least another four years. Why wouldn't these same Canadians be willing to have Stevie extend the mission to this end?


The possibilities for more poison pills do seem to be endless for Stevie these days.  I bet he's probably cursing out the N.D.P. for voting with him in the last non-confidance motion.


Either way, reading about the state of our politicians & the looming possibility of a Harpercon majority is just ghoulish.

Canadian Political Parties-One Unhappy Disfunctional Family

Sometimes I really do think we're becoming more & more Americanized. These days, Canadian Politics can only be described in one phrase: A Big Unhappy Disfunctional Family.


Harpercons are poised to  gain a majority government if an election were held today. What's funnier is I'm not really sure why. Is it because Canadians are really becoming more Libertarian; more attracted to the GOP way of life? Or is it because the Liberals are soooo disfunctional with an unsuitable leader?  Or perhaps whiny Canadian voters are just soooo tired of going to the polls that they would jump in with both feet first & vote Harpercons in because they have the best shot at a majority, which is something most Canadians seem to want; nothing to do with what Harpercons would do or not do. Whatever the reason, Harpercons are poised for a majority government unless the Liberals get their shit together & for the sake of Canada, I hope this happens sooner rather than later.


While Iggy was busy preparing to table a non-confidance motion to Stevie's economic stimulus report card; dear ol' Denis Coderre tenders a rather noisy resignation as Quebec's lieutenant. This is not a good day for Iggy. It would seem that the family feud between the 'Trudeau/Chretien' clan & the 'Turner/Martin' clan (terms coined by L. Ian MacDonald in today's Montreal Gazette)  is still alive & kicking. A feud that would almost rival that of the Hatfields v the McCoys without the guns or hillbilly environment. 


Poor Denis, he will never be prime-minister, so why prime him to lead the Liberals? Have they not learned their lesson?  When Iggy overrode Coderre's decision to nominate Cauchon for the Outremont riding & the new 'star' Nathalie Le Prohon in Jeanne Le Ber, a riding now held by the Bloc & had been switching between the Bloc & the Liberals for a few years now; Coderre has a temper tantrum. While he says that he still has 'confidance' in Iggy, he says he should consider changing his advisors. 

"Should he follow his Quebec lieutenant while working closely with a credible team? Or to his Toronto advisers who know nothing about the social and political realities of Quebec?"

Ordinarily, I would see this answer as a no brainer. Of course the Quebec Lieutenant would be best suited to advise Iggy on Liberal matters in Quebec. However, I would make an exception to this one. Since Mulcair won Outremont in a bi-election following the departure of the former Quebec lieutenant, Jean Lapierre, he has had & still has a strong hold on this riding. The Liberals are going to need to not only keep all their seats but  take every additional seat they can get to not only prevent a Harpercon majority. In order to do this, they can't really afford to experiment. I saw having the 'star' Nathalie Le Prohon run against Mulcair in Outremont as a mistake & sure to lose. After all, if she's such a star, how come not to many folks have heard of her before last week outside of Nokia & IBM? Cauchon, on the other hand had Outremont for eleven years until 2004 when he left with the mass exodus shortly after Chretien was ousted from office. Cauchon is well known.  He also would be much more suitable leader of the Liberals than Coderre, particularly if he succeeds in winning Outremont against a very popular MP. Cauchon would indeed have a much better shot at becoming PM with perhaps even a majority government than Coderre ever would.


Also, Denis Coderre is blaming the wrong person for his misfortune at least in part. According to Iggy, he received a phone  last Friday with Le Prohon, who said she thought the right solution would be for her to seek an open nominaton in the Bloc Québécois-held riding of Jeanne-Le Ber. Iggy maintains that this was her decision.  Well, well, I'm starting to like her already; someone who is thinking about the good of the party.  I may not know much about her, but something tells me she could well unseat the Bloc incumbent & probably have an easier time of it than perhaps even Cauchon would to unseat Mulcair in Outremont. Something tells me she will have a bright future in Liberal politics. Here is a brief bio of her. Quite impressive, really. A survivor.


Denis Coderre apparently still plans to be an MP representing the riding of Bourassa. Let's hope he at least continues to do that. While I don't like his being a poor sport, he needs to stay in a riding the Liberals would be sure to keep.


As for Stephane Dion, let's hope Iggy allows him to stay in St-Laurent. He may not have succeeded in becoming PM, but the fact that he has held St-Laurent for so many years is indicative that the folks in that riding must have confidence in him to represent them in parliament. Again, Iggy should not upset this apple cart for the good of the party.


As for the economic stimulus report card, Jack Layton & the NDP; those 'God awful Socialists' Stevie has so much disdain for, will be propping up the Harpercons yet again under the guise of ensuring a speedy passage of legislation extending EI benefits for the unemployed. I believe that's only part of the reason he's doing this. After all, as I pointed out in Damned if they Do; Damned if they Don't; Starring..., Layton knows that this is the only way to ensure EI changes come in, such as they are. The other part would be not only because his numbers are down & the party is broke, but I'm sure he feels the same way I do; the same way I'm sure many Canadians do; a Harpercon majority is much more dangerous than the status-quo. 


Yeah, Jack will no doubt be lambasted by Canadians yet again & will be maligned in the media by Iggy, but I wonder if the latter is just nothing more than a show for the media? After all, I can't believe that someone of Iggy's academic pedigree would be that stupid to actually not look at his numbers & want an election. Yes, he had to throw down the gauntlet, but I'm wondering if he made some kind of back room deal with Jack Layton?? Never can tell. This is why I have said that Jack Layton, along with Gilles Duceppe are the real stars of this debacle. Layton & the NDP, along with Duceppe & the Bloc, may never be the ruling party in the ivory tower of Ottawa, but they essentially decide whether Canadians remain with the status quo or do they play the game of political craps & take a chance at an election. As Dr. Phil in his trashy show would say, "the tail is wagging the dog". 


 As much as I would love to see a socialist government in power (I would do a happy dance if that happened & yes, maybe even youtube it), I am a realist & know the NDP will never be the ruling party.  No one has succeeded in taking away the raison d'etre from the Bloc & we have the Green Party (party with a noble cause but basically a one trick pony), who will never get a seat. 


To summarize this fiasco, the Bloc & NDP who will never rule are running the show pretty much; the Liberals are still involved in family feuding & Stevie is just salivating over ruling Canada under perhaps a new title of 'The Canadian Republican Party' but knows that one mis-step & he could be out of the game which is why he shares the sandbox ever so begrudgingly with the 'separatists' & the 'socialists'.  Also, let's not forget, with all this disfunction, Stevie seems to be able to get away with reminding us of his GOP style agenda in a behind closed door video (you can view the short video in the posting Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Harper) & be a no-show at UN climate change talks in favour of lunch with Mayor Bloomberg & missing UN meetings in favour of eating donuts at Timmy's. 


Of course, let's not forget, as I pointed out in the earlier above mentioned posting, the most stable party & the leader who has the most credibility is the separatist party; a party which only represents the second largest province in Canada with no candidates outside of it. 


Like I said, the Liberals better get their shit together.


Like I said, one big unhappy disfunctional family. If there wasn't such a danger of a Harpercon majority, I would perhaps write a comedic play about it. 

Damned if they Do; Damned If they Don't--Starring Socialists, Separatists & Rest of the Cast

Who said Canadian politics was boring? It can be very entertaining when Iggy & Stevie are playing a game of 'Who blinks first'. A cartoon posted on Montreal Simon's blog illustrates exactly what the current situation is.


It seems all the parties  & those whiny Canadians who seem to be afraid of polling stations may have gotten a reprieve after all. Both will be signing the Harpercons' Ways & Means bill; the Bloc will sign because of the popular home renovation tax credit & NDP because of the EI plan.


After reading the various comments to articles written on the story, I was not surprised but was disappointed to see the readers still bitching. I swear, I don't envy any of these politicians & their parties. They can never win. Damned if they do; Damned if they don't. What amazes me about average Canadians who comment on these sites is their lack of knowledge of how Canadian Politics really works. I would expect this more from the American Tea-baggers, Birthers & other neo-cons who can't even spell the slogans on their protest signs correctly, but from Canadians?? Aren't we supposed to be more knowledgeable & logical??


One aspect of Canadian politics alot of Canadians just don't get: Sorry, folks, Iggy did not & is NOT calling an election: only the Prime-minister can do that. He simply put the PM on notice is all. While he picked a rather aggressive way of doing it, I not only understand why he did it, I applaud it. It was about time.


I never believed Iggy was suitable to run the Liberal Party or any other Canadian party for that matter due to his long time absence outside of Canada, limited political experience & lack of charisma. I still don't. More & more I see he is the wrong person to lead Canada or any political party for that matter, mainly because of his "Think big & global" ads, proving he is out of touch with average Canadian working folks & we still don't know much about him. Although, I did catch a recent ad of his in the Toronto Star actually addressing the Canadian jobless rate & proposing job creation & training, so maybe there's hope that he will catch on to what is actually important to Canadians these days.


For better or worse, he is the leader of the Liberals & for the time being he's basically all we got to oppose Harpercons & after 79 times, it was time he made some kind of move; ready or not. Like Stephane Dion before him, he becomes the wishy - washy laughing stock of his own party & of Canada if doesn't throw down the gauntlet at some point. Nevertheless, he is still villified for such a move.


Well, what would have happened if Iggy hadn't have thrown the gauntlet when he did? My guess is that Harpercons wouldn't have put out that EI plan  (not a great one as most would still not qualify for the extra help), when they did. Still, considering ol' Stevie thinks of EI, this is already a stretch:
"In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance."
- Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think-tank. 

Evidence that he would not have introduced an EI change of any kind had he a majority government or if Iggy hadn't have served notice.

We may be in economic recovery, but unemployment is still very high, these jobs won't come back & Canadians are still losing or at risk of losing the jobs they have. Yet, Canadians still think it's more important to not go to the polls & blame others rather than fight to have EI reform.  Why shouldn't we fight for EI reform? Canadians would do well to take a look at their pay stubs & realize that they pay into the EI fund with every pay checque so shouldn't it be easier to access when we need it? That proposal of the Harpercons is the best they're going to offer & Layton knows it. That's why he's voting with it. That & it would help those in the failing car industry & manufacturing sectors in NDP territory. We will have to count on another Government to implement a better EI plan.



When Iggy starts actually opposing the Harpercons, he is villified for 'calling' or the better choice of words here, provoking a Fall election. Funny when Harper called an election around this time last year after seeing his numbers touting him in majority government territory, no one blamed him nearly as much, at least not for that anyway. Announcing plans to cut funding to arts & culture was his downfall & cost him dearly; particulary in Quebec where arts & culture is a mainstay. I don't know who his advisors are, but he must either have advisors that should be fired or he just wasn't listening to them. Anyone could see he was in trouble in Quebec when the Federalist premier & a former Tory under Brian Mulroney campaigns for the Bloc. Be that as it may; he still got a stronger minority & still people in general weren't as hostile toward him as they are with Iggy today.


I would guess that no one is happier anymore than Iggy, himself. Furthermore, I wouldn't have put it passed Iggy if he made some kind of deal with Layton to vote along with this proposed EI reform. Harper only needs one party to keep him afloat. It turns out he will get the double gift of both the 'Socialists' & the 'Separatists' saving his government & ol' Stevie would be a fool to refuse...Not that he will thank them, of course, nor will the whiny Canadian population for that matter.


Speaking of 'Socialists' & 'Separatists' they're taking a beating in the comments of the news media sites:  Everything from calling  them hypocrites for signing on this Friday to simply making fun of them. Not that they care: Layton may well be on his way out the door as it is & the Home reno tax credit is something Duceppe knows Quebecers will like.


There is still hatred toward that  coalition government that almost happened last year under Dion & Layton. Let's remember that this coalition was assembled because Stevie bit off more than he can chew when he announced there would be no economic stimulus offered while the other G20 countries were offering stimulus packages. Given that Dion had just lost the last election what choice did he have? Had he voted along with this, this would surely have hammered the last nail on the coffin of the Liberal party. I am certain there would have been as much hatred & vitriol from Canadians if Dion had chosen to vote along with that statement.


Yes, we are in an albeit slow economic recovery but let's remember that it wasn't Harpercons who saved the day; it was that threat of a coalition with the Liberals, the 'separatists' & the 'socialists'. Had there been no stimulus as Stevie wanted in the first place, we would sure not be able to brag about coming out of the recession today.


Ironically, the most stable & consistant federal political party of today with a leader who seems to show the most integrity happens to be the 'Separatist' Big Bad Bloc Quebecois & Gilles Duceppe. Now can we understand why even the non-sovereignists of Quebec will continue to vote for them? Also, as he has pointed out, he is not for sale & he will go motion by motion & his reasoning for voting with the Harpercons or not will depend on how well a particular piece of legislation will serve or will not serve Quebec's interests. Duceppe & the Bloc also have nothing to lose or gain at this point.


No one wants to be rid of ol' Stevie more than I do, but as a realist, I'm relieved an election isn't being held today given the recent polls  suggesting a growing lead for the Harpercons, in spite of that closed door video. It seems most would argue (logical reasoning in most cases; except this one) that we should vote in the devil we do know as opposed to the one we don't know. Only few of us think of voting with the reverse reasoning; we don't like the devil we know & don't believe the one we don't know could be any worse.  If the Liberals & the others continue to keep ol' Stevie on his toes whenever he hints at reverting to his old ways, this is the best it's going to be until the next election further down the road.


Who knows what can happen in a few months? Perhaps the Liberals can get lucky & Iggy decides to resign & they get a new leader. With the exception of the Bloc, all the parties could stand to have new leaders. For those who keep blaming the Bloc for successive minority governments, the only way for either the Liberals or the Conservatives to be able to take away at least some of the raison d'etre of the Bloc is have a French speaking leader from Quebec like Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney & Jean Chretien; the latter achieving successive majority governments inspite of the Bloc as in recent years, those parties tend to be the most successful.


The parties may be in messy situations right now, but Canadian voters aren't much better. The only thing they are sure of is they want a majority government even if it is the Harpercons with their U.S. Republican style of governing & that they have what I like to now call pollingstationphobia. If there is an election further down the road in 2010, I'm sure they're going to be whining about it again whether it's the Liberals who provoke one or if ol' Stevie himself calls it.


Let's also remember that while the 'Socialists' & the 'Separatists' will never form an official federal government, they will be the stars in the events to come. 




I have a question for Canadians pollingstationphobia: Perhaps it would be best we never have elections? That the Government is appointed by some faction? Would they perhaps like to take a page from the Bernie Ecclestone book of political ideologies  "The trouble with politicians and democracy is they all the time have to compromise, they can't do what they want to do because there is somebody in opposition. It certainly takes a lot longer to do something." Of course not, so anytime there may be an election, they would be best to take the few hours off work offered by employers on election day & stop by polling station to put that check mark next to the name they support & be on their way. See, nothing to it!