This column recently compared the relationship between Michael Ignatieff and Stephen Harper as being like two male fiddler crabs waving their enlarged claws at one another. It’s an analogy that seems even more apt today.
What I neglected to mention first time around was the tendency for fiddlers to bluff about their fighting ability – a phenomenon known as “dishonest signalling”. Apparently when re-growing a lost claw, a crab will occasionally grow one that looks strong and powerful but is in fact weak and puny. If he waves it vigorously enough, it will, nevertheless, intimidate the stronger crab. Sound familiar?
The Liberal leader has been brandishing his claw all over Ottawa this week but, on closer inspection, it’s not as impressive as it looks.
The Liberals say that they are ready for an election — and there’s no doubt that, in a pinch, they could finance a campaign and find enough candidates to fill a slate. But it would be a far cry from the campaign that Mr. Ignatieff would choose to run.
On the finance side, Alice Funke of the website Pundits’ Guide has made some rough calculations about the Liberals’ financial health. She calculates that the Grits spent $21.7-million last year (this includes their 2008 campaign spending, less their 50% government rebate, plus an estimate of 2008 spending, based on the 2007 figure). That compares to $20.3-million in revenue (fundraising for 2008 and quarter one in 2009, plus six quarterly government subsidies). The equivalent figures for the Conservatives are $37.4-million in spending and $41.1-million in revenue.
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Related:
Walkom: Iggy’s feckless battalions
Harper-Ignatieff meeting cools election talk
Updates:
11:17 am EDT, June 17th, 2009 — Ignatieff lands Opposition day in pending deal
You can’t even label Canada’s politicians as participants in a tv reality show because nobody could ever believe all this crap is for real in the first place. What a bunch of no-minds.
No election this summer. Iggy will grade another report card in Sept/Oct and make a decision (huh) then. Perhaps he has discovered he should have arranged a meeting with the PM a long time ago. In my mind, the PM laid down the law and Iggy found it to his benefit to cave.
Memo to Liberals:
You need to find a platform before starting a campaign. Were they so drunk with power that they forgot how to be for or against something (as opposed to someone)?
The lieberals will soon have a platform as soon as they finish reviewing the other’s for ideas, especially the Tories.
‘An economic plan but not necessarily an economic plan’ – Prof. Iggy
Can’t wait for the polls to come out after this climb down by Iggiot (from a lib blogger)
And Duceppe really went after him today in QP’
Lots of questions re who votes first ect in the House.
Just watching a vote re restoring arts funding.
Not done by party.
It is done by row., asking all in favor in row 5 on my left, 4th row ect. Then all those in favor on 5th row on my right.
Motion passes. 144/142
Which one has ‘crabs?’