mediated
It was only a matter of time.
The Conservative Party of Canada has released several ads attacking the Liberal-led coalition government proposal. Here’s one of them:
Pretty pedestrian, really. And is it me, or is the stink of desperation coming off the CPC like a hot day at the hog farm? I mean, even the paid voice-over woman sounds desperate.
As I’ve said, I’ve got some deep reservations about this whole coalition thing. But from a technocratic, or “rules of the game”, perspective, the Conservatives just got pwned. And they are now getting down to some serious, albeit angry, squirming.
December 3rd, 2008 by graeme |
And Harper is going to address the nation tonight, a la Paul Martin circa May 5 2005.
The stink of desperation is pungent but the irony is delicious.
No one seems to be mentioning that Harper’s bone-head policies are the cause of the coalition – I mean cutting Federal funding for political parties, denying the right to strike… doesn’t that sound undemocratic to anyone? But since theirs is the only political party that can afford advertising, theirs is the opinion that will be heard. I might think the Coalition is a bad Political move (ie alienating the West), but I think its a fair response to what Harper was proposing.
Sigh.
I just hope Her Excellency is listening to some really good outside constitutional experts right about now.
You want to know what’s desperate? The Liberals getting into bed with the BLOC to gain a political advantage. In my opinion, that is the bone-headed move.
This ad is no more desperate than Dions’ fight to be the PM.
Dion’s desperation is just as offensive on the nose.
I’ll say it again, because this ad says it too; I did NOT vote for Dion. I didn’t vote for a coalition. I didn’t vote for Harper either, but if I wanted Dion to be PM, I would have put an “x” beside his name.
I get the statement they’re making and yes, we should get to decide, but we don’t. Michëlle Jean gets to decide. Freaky. We didn’t choose her either. Ahh politics.
Frankly, I’m worried about Dion doing anything “through the back door.”
Just a point of fact, we don’t vote for a prime minister in Canada (unlike the presidential system in the US) we vote for a House of Commons and the GG chooses a government that will have the confidence of the House. Harper has lost that confidence, and if the House decides it has confidence in the NDP, Liberal coalition then they will form the government and yes you did vote for that (for a house of commons that will support a certain government), that’s the way our system works.
http://www.thestar.com/article/547336
Oh, I know how it works. I still think it’s freaky.
Why would we need another election? We just had one.
In Canada, we don’t vote for a government, we vote for a parliament. Parliament then self-organizes into a government. It’s a numbers game and the opposition parties have agreed to resolve their differences and now have the numbers.
Also, the Bloc is not part of the Coalition. All they agreed to do is vote with the coalition in matters of confidence because a better economic stimulus is worth giving stability to parliament.
Finally, Stephané Dion is stepping down in May; he would only be Prime Minister temporarily, so it’s extra disingenuous to claim this is a power grab by him personally to become PM.