[OnTheIce]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadav ... ional.html

$1:

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said he would follow parliamentary rules and be willing to try and form a government if Stephen Harper wins the most seats but fails to win the confidence of the House of Commons.

"If the governor general wants to call on other parties, or myself, for example, to form a government, then we try to form a government," Ignatieff told CBC's Peter Mansbridge in an exclusive interview Tuesday afternoon.

That's exactly how the rules work and what I'm trying to say to Canadians, I understand the rules, I will follow them to the letter."

The statement is the closest Ignatieff has come to describing how he could become prime minister since his vow on the first day of the campaign renouncing a coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.

Ignatieff also denied he has started running a negative campaign against Harper, saying the question boils down to whether you can trust the Conservative leader with power.

"i think that we have to be tough, I think we have to frame up the issues. I think that Canadians want to know what the choices are on May 2," Ignatieff said.

"We feel a strong campaign here is essential."

Mansbridge pressed Ignatieff about some of the campaign ads the Liberals are running, specifically ones that say Stephen Harper wants "absolute power."

Ignatieff said Harper shut down Parliament twice and has been held in contempt of Parliament. He said the important question of the campaign is: "Can you trust this guy with power?"

"If you can't trust this man with democracy, you can't trust his with anything else," Ignatieff said.

Ignatieff's sit-down discussion with Mansbridge is part of a series of one-on-one interviews with the party leaders. Harper has agreed to an interview at a time that has yet to be determined.

[bootlegga]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

"If you can't trust this man with democracy, you can't trust his with anything else," Ignatieff said.

Hey, I agree with you again!

[saturn_656]

Didn't Iggy rule out a coalition not too long ago?

Is his memory really that bloody short?

[DrCaleb]

saturn_656 saturn_656:

Didn't Iggy rule out a coalition not too long ago?

Is his memory really that bloody short?

The article didn't use the 'C' word. If the party with the most seats does not have confidence of the house, the GG can ask the party with the second most seats if they are willing to form government. That's in the constitution.

Edit: otherwise, the results of an election can result in yet another election right after the first.

[saturn_656]

The end result will be the same, regardless of the path taken to get there. Liberal government propped up by the 'dippers and perhaps the bloc?

Sounds like a coalition government to me.

If it walks like duck, quacks like a duck... well, I ain't calling it a fracking goose.

[ErikFG]

Call me crazy but I have absolutely no problem with a coalition government.

Anything is better than the conservatives.

[Gunnair]

ErikFG ErikFG:

Call me crazy but I have absolutely no problem with a coalition government.

Anything is better than the conservatives.

Crazy...

... and not for the pro-coalition stance. It's for the end piece of over done, very crispy, and somewhat bland partisan hackery that you finished your thought with.

[Canadaka]

saturn_656 saturn_656:

The end result will be the same, regardless of the path taken to get there. Liberal government propped up by the 'dippers and perhaps the bloc?

Sounds like a coalition government to me.

If it walks like duck, quacks like a duck... well, I ain't calling it a fracking goose.

IT IS NOT THE SAME THING! And I'm tired of the ignorance and misinformation.

In this NON coalition scenario there would be no NDP or Bloc members of government. All the ministers would be Liberal. It would govern with the confidence of the house just as the Conservatives have.

[raydan]

Funny that nobody talks about the fact that Harper could form a coalition government too, if he wins without a majority. Would he want to and would any other party get on board, is another question.

[jason700]

Gunnair Gunnair:

ErikFG ErikFG:

Call me crazy but I have absolutely no problem with a coalition government.

Anything is better than the conservatives.

Crazy...

... and not for the pro-coalition stance. It's for the end piece of over done, very crispy, and somewhat bland partisan hackery that you finished your thought with.

I don't anything partisan about what he's saying here... mind you I remember seeing any of his other posts. He's just saying that he's not voting Conservative and he's definitely not pushing any party tag-lines by saying he's fine with a coalition.

I agree with him BTW. I don't see a problem with a coalition government either except that everyone is denying that they would form one.

[Gunnair]

jason700 jason700:

Gunnair Gunnair:

ErikFG ErikFG:

Call me crazy but I have absolutely no problem with a coalition government.

Anything is better than the conservatives.

Crazy...

... and not for the pro-coalition stance. It's for the end piece of over done, very crispy, and somewhat bland partisan hackery that you finished your thought with.

I don't anything partisan about what he's saying here... mind you I remember seeing any of his other posts. He's just saying that he's not voting Conservative and he's definitely not pushing any party tag-lines by saying he's fine with a coalition.

I agree with him BTW. I don't see a problem with a coalition government either except that everyone is denying that they would form one.

Partisan is the "anything but" stance. That's a ridiculous politically immature it of foolishness.

I may, for example, not see much to like about the NDP, but what a hackish stance to simply throw out there - anything but the NDP. Every party has something people can support in their platforms and people dismissing a party outright based on the leader's personality are childish, I think.

[Freakinoldguy]

Okay so let me get this straight.

If the Conservatives fail to get a majority but win the most seats, Iggy with less seats and his Liberals can claim that the Conservatives have lost the confidence of the House and have the Governor General replace the Conservatives with them instead?

And how is that democratic? It sounds more like the Bolsheviks manouvers to bypass the Duma and take over Russia than something a democratic country would condone.

[Bruce_the_vii]

A leader that can sign up a majority of the MPs to support him becomes the PM, say in the case of a minority government which the world is full of. It's the Parliamentary system. The country went all over this in 2008, and you still don't know the rule.

[saturn_656]

Canadaka Canadaka:

saturn_656 saturn_656:

The end result will be the same, regardless of the path taken to get there. Liberal government propped up by the 'dippers and perhaps the bloc?

Sounds like a coalition government to me.

If it walks like duck, quacks like a duck... well, I ain't calling it a fracking goose.

IT IS NOT THE SAME THING! And I'm tired of the ignorance and misinformation.

In this NON coalition scenario there would be no NDP or Bloc members of government. All the ministers would be Liberal. It would govern with the confidence of the house just as the Conservatives have.

Don't try and BS me, I wasn't born yesterday.

If the Conservatives were to come into another minority, all three opposition
parties would have to agree to remove them from government.

In other words, the Liberals would not be able to do this without the support of both the NDP and the Bloc.

Do you honestly think that support (and support in whatever confidence motions follow as they shouldn't count on the CPC for anything) is going to come with no strings attached?

It'd be a "back door" coalition, Lib government with NDP and Bloc support on confidence motions in exchange for whatever concessions the NDP and Bloc force on them.

If you want to call the duck a goose, go right ahead, but don't try and sell me that fairy tale.

[Gunnair]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Okay so let me get this straight.

If the Conservatives fail to get a majority but win the most seats, Iggy with less seats and his Liberals can claim that the Conservatives have lost the confidence of the House and have the Governor General replace the Conservatives with them instead?

And how is that democratic? It sounds more like the Bolsheviks manouvers to bypass the Duma and take over Russia than something a democratic country would condone.

It also sounds correct. The GG can ask thr Libs to try and form a government if the CPC loses the confidence of the house. Try is the operative word here.