Election a tantalizing prospect to energized Tories (1)

OTTAWA — This week’s images of Prime Minister Stephen Harper riding the prow of a locomotive in Saint John, N.B., flanked by two gainfully employed rail workers, said it all about his government’s current fortunes.

The Conservatives are rolling right along with their political agenda and message of economic recovery. The opposition Liberals seem to have gone off the rails, at least for now.

The situation is tantalizing to some Conservatives, who as one party source put it are “always looking for opportunities” to elegantly orchestrate the demise of the Liberals.

Pollster Doug Anderson says his research shows that’s a dangerous game.

“The greatest significance you could project from this is, if you’re going to be the party that causes an election – or if you really want one to happen – you don’t want to suffer the blame,” said Anderson, vice-president at Harris-Decima.

“So if the government wants one to happen, they have to be very delicate in how they make it happen.”

Former Harper adviser Tom Flanagan, author of the book “Harper’s Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power,” agrees that triggering an election would most likely backfire on the Conservatives.

“Good government is good politics,” Flanagan argues.

At least for now, Conservative tacticians are of the same view: keeping their powder dry is the best strategy.

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Notes:

Maybe it’s just me but I tuned into QP on CPAC today and I lasted a whole three minutes before I changed the channel.   I’ve never seen a quieter bunch of sad sacks than that Liberal opposition.  Well that’s not true is it?  They were like that when Dion was going down the tubes, weren’t they?  Regarding an election I have no difficulty with one now but Harper knows what’s going on and I don’t.  “So” – I’ll just sit back and watch the show.