Canada's Opposition Parties: Better Bring On Your Game This Time Around ....
Indeed - opposition parties in the House of Commons, especially the LPC and NDP, better get their act together this time around and constitute a true opposition to Harper and his Harpies.
Or else, he'll be governing even more as a majority government than since 2006 ...
Henceforth - you have been put on notice, boys and girls:
Or else, he'll be governing even more as a majority government than since 2006 ...
Henceforth - you have been put on notice, boys and girls:
Opposition must work fast to prevent Harper take-over
Grits and Dippers must bang out agenda for common cause with Bloc to stop the Harperites.
by Ish Theilheimer
Campaign 2008 has come and gone in Canada and left a lot of gaping jaws. The Harper Conservatives got a percentage and a half more of the of vote than in 2006 — but won 13 more parliamentary seats as Liberals support collapsed, especially in Ontario.
In the leaders' debates, the four opposition leaders disagreed about many things, but they were entirely united on one point: Stephen Harper, Spawn of Satan (SoS), must be defeated because he is taking Canada in the wrong direction. Don't look now, but Harper is hurtling down the runway and about to take off leaving the Canada that 63 percent of us know and love in the rearview.
Unless the opposition parties work very quickly together, Harper will have free reign to govern for a full term.
The Conservative leader said on the campaign trail that a renewed minority would give him a stronger mandate. This struck many as improbable, but the logic is real. If the opposition parties could not defeat him in the campaign and prove unable to challenge him with a coalition or accord-style government, they are unlikely to stand up to him in Parliament and force another election.
Here is where things get interesting. At the time of writing, Harper has won or leads in 143 seats. The Liberals have 75, the Bloc 50, and the NDP 38. No two parties on their own can form a coalition to challenge the Conservative claim to govern. It will take the cooperation of three. They don't all have to be part of the coalition. Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton could conceivably make a case to the Governor General for forming a government if they had an undertaking from Gilles Duceppe that he would support their legislative agenda.
Of course the idea is a stretch. The Liberals and NDP hate one another, and the Bloc is not a federalist party. But all agree Stephen Harper is SoS, and Gilles Duceppe could make a strong case that he can best defend Quebec's interests by defeating Harper's government. Stopping a Harper majority proved to be Duceppe's great campaign promise and accomplishment, so this sort of arrangement could make sense to him.
Arriving at such a deal will require fast work to forge a governing agenda that all parties could live with, including significant provincial self-determination to satisfy the Bloc. It will also require a lot of pride-swallowing on all fronts.
(Keep reading ...)
Grits and Dippers must bang out agenda for common cause with Bloc to stop the Harperites.
by Ish Theilheimer
Campaign 2008 has come and gone in Canada and left a lot of gaping jaws. The Harper Conservatives got a percentage and a half more of the of vote than in 2006 — but won 13 more parliamentary seats as Liberals support collapsed, especially in Ontario.
In the leaders' debates, the four opposition leaders disagreed about many things, but they were entirely united on one point: Stephen Harper, Spawn of Satan (SoS), must be defeated because he is taking Canada in the wrong direction. Don't look now, but Harper is hurtling down the runway and about to take off leaving the Canada that 63 percent of us know and love in the rearview.
Unless the opposition parties work very quickly together, Harper will have free reign to govern for a full term.
The Conservative leader said on the campaign trail that a renewed minority would give him a stronger mandate. This struck many as improbable, but the logic is real. If the opposition parties could not defeat him in the campaign and prove unable to challenge him with a coalition or accord-style government, they are unlikely to stand up to him in Parliament and force another election.
Here is where things get interesting. At the time of writing, Harper has won or leads in 143 seats. The Liberals have 75, the Bloc 50, and the NDP 38. No two parties on their own can form a coalition to challenge the Conservative claim to govern. It will take the cooperation of three. They don't all have to be part of the coalition. Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton could conceivably make a case to the Governor General for forming a government if they had an undertaking from Gilles Duceppe that he would support their legislative agenda.
Of course the idea is a stretch. The Liberals and NDP hate one another, and the Bloc is not a federalist party. But all agree Stephen Harper is SoS, and Gilles Duceppe could make a strong case that he can best defend Quebec's interests by defeating Harper's government. Stopping a Harper majority proved to be Duceppe's great campaign promise and accomplishment, so this sort of arrangement could make sense to him.
Arriving at such a deal will require fast work to forge a governing agenda that all parties could live with, including significant provincial self-determination to satisfy the Bloc. It will also require a lot of pride-swallowing on all fronts.
(Keep reading ...)
Yes, but Layton is on record he will work for the better good, and Dion is on record saying he is not interested in an coalition. So the lib camp needs to work on ensuring their representatives in government work for the "greater good."
ReplyDeleteGood point - and agreed.
ReplyDelete