The Week Ahead
The week ahead promises to be an interesting one, even if the end result looks more and more certain by the day.
The Liberal opposition day and the supply vote on spending estimates have been shifted from Monday to Friday, allowing Flaherty to table his budget Tuesday. While the budget itself will never pass, it deserves close attention, since it will basically become the de facto Tory platform.
After that, we'll be treated to a series of procedure tactics and votes, as the parties jockey to ensure the government falls on their terms. At this point, I don't think it really matters how they fall - most voters will jumble the budget, ethical lapses, and a slew of confidence votes together. The exact trigger won't make a huge difference.
Neither will who caused it, though we'll certainly be treated to a round of the blame game. The truth is, all four parties share responsibility, and trying to assign blame is a colossal waste of time. Any of the three opposition parties could have avoided this by supporting the government, and the NDP's demands were so meager, all Harper needed to do was toss them a few scraps to save his skin.
How the government falls and who's responsible don't matter in the least. But get ready to hear a lot about it in the week ahead.
UPDATE: Then again, there could be an undemocratic coalition deal with the socialists and/or the separatists in the works...
The Liberal opposition day and the supply vote on spending estimates have been shifted from Monday to Friday, allowing Flaherty to table his budget Tuesday. While the budget itself will never pass, it deserves close attention, since it will basically become the de facto Tory platform.
After that, we'll be treated to a series of procedure tactics and votes, as the parties jockey to ensure the government falls on their terms. At this point, I don't think it really matters how they fall - most voters will jumble the budget, ethical lapses, and a slew of confidence votes together. The exact trigger won't make a huge difference.
Neither will who caused it, though we'll certainly be treated to a round of the blame game. The truth is, all four parties share responsibility, and trying to assign blame is a colossal waste of time. Any of the three opposition parties could have avoided this by supporting the government, and the NDP's demands were so meager, all Harper needed to do was toss them a few scraps to save his skin.
How the government falls and who's responsible don't matter in the least. But get ready to hear a lot about it in the week ahead.
UPDATE: Then again, there could be an undemocratic coalition deal with the socialists and/or the separatists in the works...
Labels: Election 2011
posted by calgarygrit at
11:49 a.m.
11 Comments:
As a political junkie "interesting" or pre-planned is more accurate?
Will the budget have any effect in preventing the opposition parties from voting a motion of contempt against this government? (No)
Will any party decide it is worth taking the heat for twelve months in propping up this government to pass the goodies in the budget?
If all political parties feel the government is most vulnerable now they will act to return to the polls. If they don't and feel they are at greater risk of losing seats than they will find some reason for making parliament work.
Nothing new, same old dance.
By
CanadianSense, at 12:35 p.m.
I can still see ABSTENTIONS and no election.
By
MississaugaPeter, at 1:51 p.m.
How many Liberal MP's will suddenly come down with the flu?
By
Anonymous, at 2:46 p.m.
Anonymous,
There will be no Liberal MPs abstaining or missing any of the votes this week!
Please go back to deluding yourself that Harper is good.
By
MississaugaPeter, at 10:34 p.m.
Anon - Libs will vote it down. That much seems certain.
If Harper survives, it will be through Bloc or NDP support.
By
calgarygrit, at 10:55 p.m.
The piece about the latest Poll results (March 18 Blog) might give one pause to wonder whether any (other than the Bloc) might want to force an election. But the thing is, the Pollsters all use autodial - while it is a methodological folly to extrapolate from one's personal experience, the fact remains that, with 'Caller ID" now available on virtually every telephone, there are others like me, who do not answer the phone if we don't recognize the calling number - or wait until the 3rd ring, after which, the computer has already moved on. And, it doesn't pick up those that don't have telephones, nor those that don't have land lines.
The Pollsters say they "control" for these factors, but the evidence suggests that the folks that are most likely to answer the phone when they don't know who's calling are also a very similar demographic to those who would vote Conservative - without having a clue about what they are really voting for.
The (few) Polls that I've seen that ask Canadians about their values, come up with results that are very much contrary to the Conservative agenda (not the "hidden agenda", but the one they boast about).
I say, "Stand up to the bully; vote strategically (as we in Edmonton Strathcona did last time around) and send him back to the pit he crawled out of."
By
Brad, at 12:18 a.m.
The truth is, all four parties share responsibility, and trying to assign blame is a colossal waste of time
Completely disagree!
Whoever manages to convince voters that someone else was responsible for the election, thereby wasting their tax dollars, has a HUGE advantage at the polls.
It is well worth the time to try.
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:11 a.m.
Tomorrow we will see how much Harper wants an election.
By
Gayle, at 11:53 a.m.
the NDP's demands were so meager, all Harper needed to do was toss them a few scraps to save his skin.
I'll say. Cut the tax on heating oil and we'll support you??? Wow, way to leverage an advantage...
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 1:17 p.m.
Well I truly hope we have an election so the LPC can lose again and be justified in putting Iggy out of his oh so obvious pain.
He just wants out of this mess . . . he was promised a coronation not a career as a working opposition politician.
They shoot horses don't they?
By
Anonymous, at 1:21 p.m.
^ inciting violence?
By
James McKenzie, at 2:53 a.m.
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