...and, let's admit it, it's got to feel good to be Stephen Harper right now. No matter how hard you kick the Liberals, they don't seem to fight back. Harper declared Kyoto dead yesterday, and the only thing the Liberals could think of was somehow finding a way to avoid bringing the election. Hint: When the Tories are all saying Dion isn't a leader, doesn't have leadership material, etc., try and find way to prove them wrong, not right. Leadership isn't throwing yourself in front of a train: Harper, the NDP, and the Bloc are all willing to go to the polls, and trying to stop that at this point isn't going to make you look good. Meanwhile, taking a stand and killing the Throne Speech on the principle of, well, any of the things that Harper said (stuff about Kyoto being only the most egregious) would have actually been an act of leadership.
But now the Liberals have the worst of all worlds. We're probably headed in to an election, but the Liberals have already signalled that they're desperately afraid of one and willing to let the Bloc and the NDP take the lead in killing the 39th Parliament. I just don't think that the Liberals are going to put voters in the mood for change if the only thing they can say is "well, we didn't want an election..."
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3 comments:
Harper is a bully - not a gambler. He doesn't have election majority numbers yet... so he is working to make the impression he does. Fact, harper could got the GG now and ask for an election based on the need for a new mandate. So, he will make up a reason sometime on his own terms. The opposition controls the parl committees and it is there the PM gets regularly embarrassed ... so he now is between an election he does not have the numbers for and a parl ready to embarrass him (to say nothing of the fraud case with elections canada). Further the ecomony is seriously in trouble with both housing and manufacturing set to fail... accordingly, harper is looking for an out and trying to make up an excuse and blame others... the bully is at work - not the gambler
Frankly, if Stephane "green scarves" Dion can't run an election on Kyoto, he's in sad sad shape.
Since the Liberals didn't walk their talk, I expect Harper's numbers will be headed in the right direction for him.
A great deal of pressure could be taken off the dollar by increasing oil royalties. Of course this would not completely offset the housing induced credit crunch in the US.
Yes, Harper will blame others for the failing economy to which he is the blame. And he will get away with it unless others stand up. Canada has the lowest oil extraction royalties in the world. And Canada is US's largest supplier of oil.
The problem is it will take a little longer before the extent of Harper's damage is undeniable. Bush won a second term simply because he was able to deny the extent of his mismanagement. I guess that is why the Conservative government is controlling the media's access so carefully.
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