“It is the Parliament that’s supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party.” - Stephen Harper, September 30th, 2004
These were statements made by Stephen Harper to Adrienne Clarkson, our former Governor-General, during the turbulent times that Paul Martin was Prime Minister of Canada. He also made the following statement:
“The reality is that [Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin] is in a minority situation, and his government has to create a functional majority (in Parliament).”
Now, bearing this in mind, let's go over some of the things that have been said about the current proposed coalition, shall we?
Actually, I've got a bright idea. I'll quote verbatim from an ad I'm watching on YouTube right now, and you guys can follow along with the following URL! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfjPV7vGDhw&feature=related)
"In the last election, just a few weeks ago, Canadians overwhelmingly said NO to Stephane Dion as Prime Minister. Now, just a few weeks later, Stephane Dion is trying to overturn the election he lost, and take power through the BACK DOOR. Except this time, it wouldn't just be Stephane Dion. This time, the balance of power would be in the hands of the SEPERATIST BLOC.
Stephane Dion and the SEPERATIST BLOC. Shouldn't YOU get to decide?"
Wow. Now, I'm confused... I thought Harper once said coalitions were okay? Let's rewind and take a look at this again to see, shall we?
“The Governor General does not have to follow the prime minister’s wishes… She must ensure that [Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin] has the House’s confidence, that’s all.”
(just a note: these sources are from the following site: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/2-faces-or-3-amigos-welcome-canadian-politics, where the excerpts are sourced and credited properly.)
...
Now, though it's difficult for me to do so, let's put sarcasm aside for the moment. Harper said in 2004 that he was more then willing to make Parliament function through the use of a coalition government. He even went as far as to include the Bloc Quebecois in a potential coalition. Now, 4 years later, he is declaring that to do so would be unconstitutional, and insinuating through various ads that to work with the Bloc like this would be treasonous. Folks, let's be completely honest with ourselves here: the only difference between then and now is that our pal Stevie is on the inside of fort government now, rather then being the one outside looking in. Other then that, there is no difference. Oh, pardon me, there is one slight difference, a complication, you could say: we're in an economic crisis now.
A crisis, I don't think I need to remind anyone, that Mr. Harper's government has already failed to address once. Not only has he failed to address it once, but in proroguing parliament, he has halted ANY chance that the government had at putting a stop to this crisis before it got out of control. He has put thousands, no, sorry, HUNDREDS of thousands of jobs on the line, all to save his hide. Is anyone else out there mad about this? We're talking about average Canadians here! Lots of them! All sacrificed, because they don't matter to Mr. Harper in the great game of the House at this point. Hopefully in the next election they prove otherwise.
Now, all this talk of economy is making me remember something from our most recent election... I seem to recall that, during the election, when Mr. Dion promised that (if elected) he would tour the country and interview the top 100 economists in the country to come up with the best method of combatting the crisis (which was developing even then.) Mr. Harper then scoffed and said that Dion had no plan for the economy. However, he has presented us little more then a charades act for his own economic plans. Instead of going through with Mr. Dion's plan and going right to the experts (the CANADIAN experts, I might add... not a bunch of foreign economists, but guys who are actually on the ground here and could come up with reasonable means of addressing the crisis in a manner best suitable for Canada) he insults our people by putting forward a ridiculous bill that contains nothing, other then the means to destroy his political opponents and pave the way for his party to become the sole party in the House of Commons.
Whew. Glad I got that out of my system. Still with me, everyone? Okay. Let's get back to it, then.
Now, on to the headlines of the day. Dion has stepped down as Liberal leader. (isn't it deliciously ironic that today would have been the day he would have become our defacto prime minister?)They finally realized that having a man who spoke oddly like Yoda as the leader of the national party probably wasn't the greatest move they've ever made. I mean, really, guys. Oh well. I personally hope he doesn't go back to being a prof of Political Science, I'd like to see him stick around in cabinet... he did a helluva job on the Clarity Act (http://www.canadianlawsite.ca/clarity-act.htm) and with the Three Letters, and just generally at keeping Quebec in line. But I'm getting off topic again (gee, I'm really bad at that, aren't I?)
His resignation has left the guys vying for his job in a bit of a pickle. See, they were expecting to have a vote to replace him ages from now, in May. There are two candidates left to replace him: Mr. Michael Ignatieff and Mr. Bob Rae. What's that? All the adult Ontarians just cringed a little when I said "Bob Rae"... hey! You did it again!
I'm personally rooting for Mr. Rae. Maybe it's because I'm not old enough to remember what life was like under Rae. I'm supporting him because he's for eliminating Harper's government as soon as parliament resumes. Since Harper poses a threat to democracy, it's my personal belief that his government needs to be brought down at the first opportunity. However, on the other side of that coin, Mr. Ignatieff is for continuing to use the threat of Coalition to extract concessions from the Tories and keep Stevie on the hop.
The dilemma could put a big rift in the liberal party. As outlined in the Liberal Party's constitution, the Party President now has to pick an interim leader with the approval of the Liberal Caucus (senators and MPs) it's widely expected that Mr. Ignatieff would take the crown should the caucus appoint the leader, but wait... Rae has been calling this method out as "undemocratic" saying:
"I don't think that coronations are generally very successful in political parties. I think most people believe that it's better to have a contest, it's better to have a choice." (http://www.610cktb.com/news/14/840699)
He's got a point... it's not a very smart move of the Liberals to simply nominate a leader. They ought to be electing one based on the entire party's approval. Granted, there's hardly time now for the pomp and mind-blowingly ridiculous expense of a full party leadership convention, but the Libs are going to need to find a way to get the ENTIRE party's say on who is going to lead them. Otherwise, things could turn nasty, as Rae has said he would be unhappy (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1049552) if the caucus simpy nominated the leader (I'm sure he wouldn't be fighting so hard for the party if he were the frontrunner... but that, I suppose, is neither here nor there, right, Bobby?)
Long story short, there's a power vacuum that's been left behind by one of the most unpopular opposition leaders in Canadian history. Let's give Dion a hand, eh? Just when we thought he'd beat the odds and actually manage to deal a smashing defeat to Harper (at long last!) he (once again) snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in his usual manner by bungling his national address to the Canadian public on that national address of his. Brilliant.
The whole tragicomedy that has been presented to us in the past week is pathetic, really. These people are supposed to be running the country, and instead it's all about egos and sinister moves. I think if things keep up like this I might as well run for Prime Minister next go-round. It certainely wouldn't be as ridiculous as what's been happening lately.
One thing that people should be comforted with is this: when (I mean, if) the Libs manage to get their act together by January 26th, we'll be able to do one of two things:
-Approve a nice budget full of (belated) assistance to our beleaguered industries that might be able to provide some damage control for our tottering economy.
or,
- Topple Harper and his little band of cronies now, before they put us through another massive screw up and suspend parliament again. (I think this is the more likely of the two... with all the attack ads coming out of Harper's camp this past week, I haven't heard anything in regards to progress made on a budget...)
Frankly, Canada, it's really time we see things for what they are. The current Prime Minister's ego is preventing him from seeing the issues affecting the average Canadian, the official opposition is in tatters and frantically scurrying about trying to find a leader, Quebecers are probably sharpening their blades getting ready to draw some Tory blood for all the attacks on La Belle Province recently, the NDP is waiting it out to see if the Liberals will continue to support a coalition (since it's the only real chance the New Democrats have at running the country within the next half century) and the public is up in arms over the whole mess.
What's left to do?
Vote for the newly created Monster Raving Loony Party of Canada, led by yours truly.
Then things will really be complete.
1 comment:
Ah - the art of politics - saying totally opposite things at different times and being able to totally justify it.
See also: Rhinoceros Party of Canada
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