Pro-rogues, Knaves and Other NeoCon Cads
Wow, just as I was going into withdrawal from the end of the US election, the Canadian political scene erupts in fireworks. And it's not July 1st!
Stephen Harper, seeking to avoid the opposition calling his bluff on yet another confidence motion, is asking the Governor General to adjourn parliament and end the current session. The same PM who ignored his own fixed date for the last election and asked for that parliament to be dissolved hoping to consolidate power with a shiny new majority, this time would see the constitution twisted into a Möbius strip by his ambition. What else will he willing to do in order to avoid playing nice with the 62% of opposition MPs?Not surprisingly, the opposition to the current minority government has tired of the my-way-or-the-highway style of governance; making every vote in the House a confidence issue, parliament has finally lost its patience and confidence.
During the 2 hours Harper met with the GG, and while a ludicrous handful of his own
staffers posed as protesters outside his office, there was an interview with John Baird, Minister of Transport, by Don Newman. What a guilty pleasure it was to see Mr. Newman fairly spank Baird during their contentious conversation. To see a journalist ballsy enough to be so frank with a politician to his face, and to insist on honest answers in return, well, it was electrifying. Baird, besides being exposed as ignorant or misleading of the coalition agreement, resorted to jingoist talking points like "separatism" and the "Bloc on the government side" of the House, but was relentlessly called to account on his errors and evasions by a determined Newman. It is yet to be seen what fallout there will be as a result of Baird's more controversial remarks regarding "going over the heads" of fellow parliamentarians and the Governor General.
So despite claiming that the main reason is the economy, Harper has had parliament prorogued for the next several weeks, crisis or no crisis. Having lost the trust of parliament, the Conservative party will campaign aggressively for the opinion of the Canadian people directly. In doing so, will we be exposed to weeks of propaganda only to see the inevitable postponed for the holidays? And what kind of precedent has been set for future PMs with majority aspirations and minority status? In the short term, if the consumer contact sport of Christmas is not to your liking, there should be no shortage of rough and tumble state craft to cheer-on 'til the new year. Continue here >>
posted by Atomos @ 07:58
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