I wonder of the Liberals have fallen on their feet. You know there are only 360 degrees in a circle and anything can happen once in a while. But all of a sudden there are noises coming out of Ottawa which appear to have a little uumph to them:
...Though the new Liberal Leader is widely seen as wanting to avoid such a showdown, he said Mr. Harper has failed to demonstrate effective leadership in the face of a worsening economic crisis, and the January budget represents a crucial test. “I think it is extremely important for Mr. Harper to understand that if he doesn't produce a budget that is in the national interest of Canada he's going to lose a vote of confidence at the end of January,” Mr. Ignatieff said in an interview on CTV's Question Period that aired Sunday.“He has to understand that, and he has to understand this is a credible threat...”
Them's fightin' words. Tom Clancy sorta fightin' words. But that's fiction and we have all seen the movies. Can the guy really pull it off? Is he just Mr. Big Talker, that big talkin' guy or are any Tories starting to look over their shoulder at the guy who tells Stephen Harper this is "their last shot." Tories don't talk to Stephen Harper like that. They're not allowed. By him. They know how these things work. Why doesn't Iggy?
Comments
Ben (The Tiger) - December 30, 2008 12:51 PM
Iggy's the leader of the opposition.
It's a strange sort of opposition that doesn't oppose.
So he's headed back to where he should -- Liberals should not vote for Tory budgets.
If that means he has to take over as PM this February at the head of a coalition -- well, maybe that'll be what he'll do.
Alan - December 30, 2008 12:54 PM
I do think a leader of the opposition in a minority government should also use the government as its whipping boy - as Dion's ill fated coalition actually pulled off. Harper has (again) abandoned his principles and plans and is following opposition instructions. Iggy should not be putting us back into an election for shits and giggles. He should only do so if the current government comes back and shows that November 2008 was actually the best they could do.
Ben (The Tiger) - December 30, 2008 4:12 PM
Shouldn't put us into an election he'd lose, you mean? :p
We'll see. Who knows, maybe this parliament has more life than I thought.
Alan - December 30, 2008 4:26 PM
Wouldn't a return to 2006 be a victory for Iggy? I mean of Harper can be hailed as a master tactician by missing a majority three times even though they lay right there on the table...
I think stability, what Harper does not want, is the responsible thing.
Jay Currie - December 30, 2008 4:42 PM
I think Iggy will impress. In fact he already has.
His trick here will be to appear Prime Ministerial, push Harper (in the wrong direction in my opinion but we're talking politics not policy) down the compassionate deficit path and claim a glorious victory. But avoid at all costs either an election or, worse from his perspective, a coalition.
To do that he has to maintain control over the hotheads in his own caucus.
At minimum Iggy needs a year of solid performance - and massive fundraising - to have a chance at majority. And that is what he should be shooting for. Defeating Harper in the Commons is not going to get him a majority. Besting Harper, day after day, in the Commons could, over a year, very well sink Harper and the CPC.
Alan - December 30, 2008 4:53 PM
BINGO. And as I am the one true representative Canadian, right now I have more chance of voting Iggy as a virgin Grit vote than Harper as a virgin Tory even though both are fiscally conservative and happy to fight the war on terror. If he can convince me, he will win a majority. So far, his clever eloquence is way ahead of the blurt Harper's ways.
Besides, who wants to be PM in 2009?