Over the past couple of days it has become clear to me that Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, will never be Prime Minister.
This is not because the Conservative party lacks the support to win a minority or even a majority. Rather, it is because Stephen Harper himself has made a massive miscalculation and will be punished.
The House of Commons is currently in a state of deadlock and utter chaos… the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois are trying desperately to force down the government and force an election.
The Bloc is doing so for obvious reasons. With Adscam, they are practically guaranteed a Quebec sweep (70+ seats) in any near election.
The Conservatives, however, are by no means guaranteed a government. They still have a lot of convincing to do in Ontario. They need not convince people of the Liberals corruption, but rather that their own platform is not simply a Reform/Alliance platform in a new Tory disguise.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Harper isn’t making any friends with the people he needs to convince. If he wants to convince Liberal supporters that he’s a viable Prime Minister he has to show that he would be good for Canada and all Canadians. Making a deal with the Bloc simply won’t do that. If he’s in a minority government he will have to rely on who to prop up his government? It can’t be the Liberals, and it certainly won’t be the NDP.. so who’s left… the Bloc? Gilles Duceppe, leader of a party who’s ultimate goal is the break up of the Canada, will hold the balance of power.
That is simply not an option to most Canadians.
And these past few days have simply been a disgrace. Yesterday there was a vote on a “committees recommendation” for the Government to resign. The recommendation passed (153 to 150)… but the Liberals, rightly so, ignored it. It was not a formal motion on the House floor, nor was it a vote on a Budget or other legislation that would be considered a matter of confidence. It trully was a farce. Especially when Harper stood up, immediately after the vote, and challenged Martin to call a vote of confidence right there. Why would he do that? Wasn’t the first vote the vote that mattered? If Harper was going to tell Martin to call a vote of confidence anyway then what was the point of the days and days of politicking… including the DISHONOUR that was thrown upon our Veterans at VE Day celebrations.
Harper is leading is party to yet another oblivion. Personally, I think it’s Gilles Duceppe pulling the strings. Gilles knows he has everything to gain… and he’s manipulating Harper into pulling down the government with him. Harper is going to be very very lucky to get a minority government out of all this.
It’s incredible that he’s screwed up so badly that Liberal support is actually REBOUNDING. How is that possible? How is a party that has so much going wrong actually rising in the polls.
I’ll tell you why, and his name is Stephen Harper.
100% in agreement.
It amazes me that Stephen Harper will pull out of the Holland trip at the last minute, causing the PM to miss the actual ceremony at Appledoorn, criticize him for it, claim it wasn’t his fault, then come to an agreement to pass the Veteran’s Charter which would take about 5 days even with all parties agreeing, then THE VERY NEXT DAY call a “confidence vote” (not really but he wants Canadians to think so) and then shut down parliament for the rest of the week so that the Charter he promised will now die on the order paper?
And then, last night, he has the gall to claim that a vote on May 19 is an attempt to “use the Queen as a crutch” and says that the PM called the vote on the 19 so that sick MPs won’t make it?
He is absolutely unbelievable. I hope he does destroy the Conservative party. As a lifelong NDP supporter I never thought I’d yearn for the day when Conservative meant the likes Joe Clark and Flora MacDonald. Harper makes them look like socialist!
I only hope more Canadians can see what a paower hungry deomogogue he really is.
I have to agree 100%.
The conservative’s worst enemy is, well, the Conservatives. Harper is just the most visible one. He’s saying and doing things that are an embarassment to Canadians, let alone Conservatives.
If an election occurs, I don’t expect them to do well in Ontario – he can’t keep Cheryl Gallant from talking for 36 days and still have have her win a seat, even in Pembroke, 😉
Sooner or later, they always reveal their true colours…
Its definately the death of Harper. There is going to be no way he can shake his performance during this time,
Absolutely, Chris. Harper is proving to be a most inept and unlikeable poltician. For which I am profoundly thankful.
I have a similar take on it here:
http://borealblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/conservative-meltdown.html
The responses to your rant against Steven Harper is interesting, but totally out to lunch.
When the writ is dropped, and it can’t be soon enough for this voter. With one exception over the last 40+ years I have voted Liberal, to do so this time would require me to throw all the mirrors in my house out, otherrwise I would have to shave in the dark, because I could not look myself in the eye if I cast a ballot for the bunch of scoundrels now in government.
Cheers
Then again, Harper is just Harper! Behind him is the whole party. Already in some circles Stronach is being subtly (and not so subtly) promoted as the next leader (and by the way, the fact that Paul Cellucci is in that picture is quite unsettling). Also remember how when Day was ousted everyone heaved a sigh of relief? But then we got more of the same, albeit packaged differently.
I predict that the same thing will happen again. By making of Harper the incarnation of that which is wrong with the CPC, we may be paving the way for a resurgence of the CPC itself in the post-Harper phase. Canadians will choose to forget that in the end the fundamental radicalism of the ideology that characterises the Conservative Party in its present form lies not with Harper alone, but with the whole party, supported by a neocon integrationist and corporate-friendly apparatus.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if it turns out that progressives would have been the ones bringing on this state of affairs?