Phew. Thank heaven we have Michael Ignatieff to save our fair land from destruction, despair and a summer election.
With most Canadians worried about their jobs and feeding their families, the nation’s political leaders have spent the week at the Mad Hatter’s political party, consumed with crazy talk of a possible election in August.
Just in time, it was Iggy to the rescue, cleverly thwarting his own empty threat to bring down the Conservative government and drag the country into another $300 million trip to the polls.
Even for the hot-air capital of the nation, Ignatieff’s brilliant triumph over his own brinkmanship has to be one for the books.
On the table was Iggy’s sort-of-ultimatum to the prime minister — meet the Liberals’ demands immediately, or face the people in an August election. Maybe. Maybe not.
The Liberals were demanding Stephen Harper produce specific plans for getting the country out of deficit, and for solving the medical isotope crisis. They wanted the PM to reveal exactly how much money, if any, has actually been spent on infrastructure projects and other economic stimulus initiatives.
Fourth and finally, Ignatieff and his party were insisting the requirements for collecting employment insurance be changed to allow anyone working only 45 days to collect up to a year of benefits.
Political drama
Given the high political drama around Parliament Hill and in the national media this week, ordinary folk might be excused for having thought Iggy and Harper were negotiating a new constitution and matching national anthem.
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When Greg Weston starts dissing Michael Ignatieff’s leadership skills, you know you are in trouble. All this speculation about the fall election will amount to the same hill of beans, lots of gas but no substance. Ignatieff bought himself time to organize, raise money and get his candidates nominated. The polls will be different in the fall and if the BLOC or NDP are trailing, they will not pull the election lever. We might get clear sailing to Christmas.
If the treats of forcing an election was used as a last resort, after clearly trying to influence a minority government, then a party would establish that it’s trying to do it’s job of being a loyal opposition but instead the Liberals, and even more the NDP and the BLOCK, use this as their starting position, so that if they don’t or can’t go through with it they have to back down over and over again ….. Well, the Liberals back down and the NDP and BLOCK just become irrelevant as far as negotiating for things they might want since there is zero up side in talking with them since they will vote against anything that the Conservatives propose.
If Ignatieff’s rhetoric about ” cooperation ” in this instance was reflected in the behaviour of the Liberals in question period and other business of Parliament over the entire life of this Parliament then I would say that his contention that he is only doing the work of the ” Loyal opposition ” would be credible: In other words I agree with Ignatieff’s words about cooperation but all the behaviour before doesn’t match the rhetoric, but if it did it would be a good thing …. but I don’t expect this to become the pattern in the future.
Anyone else find Greg Weston’s incessant attacks on PMSH annoying? Just me??