SLEEPLESS IN
OTTAWA
In this case, the spotlight is only on two political organizations: the Conservatives and the Liberals. So where is everyone else? This recession has reduced the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to necessary Parliamentary nuisances. Unfortunately for them, their arguments have been downgraded by the media, the public and public opinion to little more than clichéd political rhetoric which nobody has a lot of time for these days. The NDP essentially removed themselves from the political debate when they announced their intention to vote against the government's budget before even reading it. NDP Leader Jack Layton put all his eggs in one basket with the coalition with Liberals and the Bloc. It was a well-engineered political strategy that proved Layton's skills in navigating through the political maze of federal politics. The only mistake he made was not having a plan-B in case of failure. In fact, these strategies will bring you to the top if they work. If they don't, they bring you down, lower than where you were before. The only bright side for Layton is that his strategy helped his party (and others) save their public funding. Considering that the NDP has increased their number of voters, they now have more money. However, I don't know how much this financial boon will help fill the vacuum left by the loss of political clout. The NDP definately needs a new strategy to face this new status. As for the Bloc Québécois and Gilles Duceppe, there are no changes in their strategy, which is to say what they have always been saying: "It's not enough for Quebec." He might even be right, but then again he's been saying that for the past 15 years. There's no credibility. As for their electoral base, they might have been successful in blocking the Conservatives, but in the next election, especially if the economy is still in the tank, voters might look at a more influential organization to represent them in government. If it's not Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it might be Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. Basically they have moved the problem from one place to another. In fact, a well-organized Liberal Party is much more dangerous for them in Quebec than the Conservatives. Then there's Harper's Conservatives and Ignatieff's Liberals. The tug-of-war of last week was real, but the threats from both sides to cut the rope and send Canadians to the polls, are false. Both Ignatieff and Harper are very concerned about the state of the economy. "The Prime Minister is having quite a few sleepless nights since last October, when the crisis really hit Canada," a source close to the PMO told The Hill Times last week. Harper knows that the future of his government is only technically in the hands of Liberal MPs. In reality, it all depends on how he will fare in dealing with the recession. On the other end, Ignatieff is concerned about two economies. He's concerned about the one affecting the lives of many Canadians and he's concerned about the economy inside his own party. His restructuring is still in the first stage and the party is still suffering from the two schizophrenic years of Stéphane Dion's leadership. His new team is working hard to rebuild the structure of the Liberal Party in Ottawa and in the ridings, while the Rocco Rossi cure to replenish the Liberal coffers is still under way. Going to the polls at this time will not be the best course of action for him. Besides, Harper and Ignatieff both know that forcing an election at a time when Canadians are losing jobs is very dangerous. I believe they both know this very well, but have to go through the process in order to create ammunition for when the election time eventually comes. They both need elements to justify their actions to the electorate and they know that what they say today will decide who is going to be the Prime Minister in the future. While I understand this reality, they should say whatever the script for the next election requires and then move on, and move fast. |