Many foibles in our elected leaders are forgiven; others are mocked, ridiculed, parodied and soon forgotten, but hypocrisy is often viewed as the unforgivable sin. And thus we come to the current state of affairs in Canada. Our fearless leader has apparently failed to read the newspapers, nor attend to radio and television and is thus unaware that the economy is struggling. Echoing the fickle words of US candidate McCain, our prime minister and his feckless Finance Minister have assured us that, “The fundamentals of the economy are strong.” (Again, if they were students of the media, they would surely have chosen other words!) And therefore, while the economy drops 71,000 jobs in November (the worst showing in twenty-six years), the TSE drops below 8000 (my pension was starting to look possible a few months ago when the TSE was above 14,000), and the dollar drops to 77 cents US (yes, it was at par in July,) our government has decided that nothing need be done. And, since they're afraid that the opposition parties may actually have a plan (to do something!), they have determined that parliament should go on a two-month holiday!
All this may be written off as bad strategy, lack of planning or foggy thinking, but then the politics begins to get played! The opposition parties have not only sensed that the fundamentals of the economy are not strong, but that this misstep by the governing party represents an opportunity. Now politicians are, if nothing else, opportunists, so they've tried to jump on this opportunity. They have held their back room discussions and determined that the iron is hot enough to strike! Collectively, they have written to the Governor-General offering to take over since the current government is not wanting to do anything. Ah, and the response by the Prime Minister is harsh in its ridicule and stern in its judgement. “This is a threat to the country;” blasts Mr. Harper, “the evil separatists are at the gates!” Therefore he has considered the situation and determined to avoid parliament and the confidence vote that could end his appointment as PM. Perhaps, he thinks, by the end of January the economy may have improved, or at the very least, we may be able to come up with some sort of a plan! In the meantime, he has decided to hide from accountability to parliament and take to the political battles in an attempt to defang the beasts across the aisle.
How things have changed in just a few years! Back in 2004, it was Mr. Harper who was leader of the opposition in a minority parliament. At that time, it was he who was arguing that that parliament must meet. "If the government wants to govern, it has to come to Parliament and it has to show that it can get the support of the majority of members," opined the Stephen Harper of 2004, when the shoe was on the other foot! [http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/harper.html] Back in 2004, it was Mr. Harper who organized a coalition among the opposition parties and wrote to then governor-general Clarkson offering to take over and run her country for her! And it was Mr. Harper who co-signed with the NDP and the Separatists (say it ain't so, Steve!) [http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2008/11/taking-power-without-election.html]
The press has briefly flapped over Mr. Harper's forbear, Mr. Day, and his dalliance with the Bloc back in 2000, but that never amounted to anything as Mr. Day had the good fortune not to put his name to paper. It will be interesting to watch as the scribblers get off their duffs and dig up the juicy details on this little bit of hypocrisy!
All this may be written off as bad strategy, lack of planning or foggy thinking, but then the politics begins to get played! The opposition parties have not only sensed that the fundamentals of the economy are not strong, but that this misstep by the governing party represents an opportunity. Now politicians are, if nothing else, opportunists, so they've tried to jump on this opportunity. They have held their back room discussions and determined that the iron is hot enough to strike! Collectively, they have written to the Governor-General offering to take over since the current government is not wanting to do anything. Ah, and the response by the Prime Minister is harsh in its ridicule and stern in its judgement. “This is a threat to the country;” blasts Mr. Harper, “the evil separatists are at the gates!” Therefore he has considered the situation and determined to avoid parliament and the confidence vote that could end his appointment as PM. Perhaps, he thinks, by the end of January the economy may have improved, or at the very least, we may be able to come up with some sort of a plan! In the meantime, he has decided to hide from accountability to parliament and take to the political battles in an attempt to defang the beasts across the aisle.
How things have changed in just a few years! Back in 2004, it was Mr. Harper who was leader of the opposition in a minority parliament. At that time, it was he who was arguing that that parliament must meet. "If the government wants to govern, it has to come to Parliament and it has to show that it can get the support of the majority of members," opined the Stephen Harper of 2004, when the shoe was on the other foot! [http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/harper.html] Back in 2004, it was Mr. Harper who organized a coalition among the opposition parties and wrote to then governor-general Clarkson offering to take over and run her country for her! And it was Mr. Harper who co-signed with the NDP and the Separatists (say it ain't so, Steve!) [http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2008/11/taking-power-without-election.html]
The press has briefly flapped over Mr. Harper's forbear, Mr. Day, and his dalliance with the Bloc back in 2000, but that never amounted to anything as Mr. Day had the good fortune not to put his name to paper. It will be interesting to watch as the scribblers get off their duffs and dig up the juicy details on this little bit of hypocrisy!
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