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Kelly McParland: Liberal coalition could make Canada a colony of Quebec
Posted: December 01, 2008, 11:50 AM by Kelly McParland
Having been handed a political gift by Stephen Harper, the Liberal party is doubling down instead of pocketing the win. The Prime Minister’s plan to hobble opposition parties by ending their access to taxpayer subsidies has blown up in his face, much as such plans always do when evil geniuses try to take over the world.
The opposition had this thing won: They humiliated Mr. Harper, forced him to back down, and undermined his authority with his own caucus. But rather than accept victory and withdraw with honour, top figures from the NDP and the Liberals spent the weekend conspiring for more. They want to run the whole country, and they apparently don’t care what sort of sham government they have to put together to do it.
In place of the Conservatives we are to be offered a Liberal-led coalition with Stéphane Dion temporarily at its head and a quarter of the cabinet spots occupied by the NDP. That still doesn’t provide enough votes to counter the Conservatives, so it will have to be propped up by the Bloc Québécois to survive. The national government will be dependent on the separatist Bloc to approve all major legislation, in effect making Canada a colony of Quebec.
The three men contending for the leadership of the Liberal party appeared together yesterday to proclaim their willingness to support Mr. Dion for the dubious distinction of leading this sorry grouping, perhaps wisely recognizing the dangers of leading it themselves. They pointed out that the arrangement will just be temporary — the leadership race will continue as before. Mr. Dion is thus considered good enough to lead the country, but not good enough to head the Liberal party.
What’s more, he’s being deputed to lead the country during what may be the most critical six months in living memory, after which he would be dumped for someone else. His would-be successors could very well be sitting in his Cabinet, passing judgement on critical issues, while simultaneously campaigning to unseat this leader as inadequate.
The Liberals apparently believe Canadians will buy into this: an unstable government beholden to a separatist party for its survival, led by a man who was repudiated by voters less than two months ago, who will be given the reins through a critical period in the national history and then replaced with somebody to be identified later.
It doesn’t say much for the judgement of any of the three candidates vying to replace Mr. Dion. It suggests they have concluded it is better to sacrifice Mr. Dion and the interests of the country rather than sacrifice their own ambitions. If Mr. Dion fails in his rescue mission, presumably the coalition will fail as well; if he succeeds, why would we want to replace him with an untested successor?
Whether Governor-General Michaëlle Jean will allow it is an arresting question. The opposition has every right to defeat the government and try to replace it, but a grouping so unstable, unwieldy and beneficial to the cause of the separatists, headed by a temporary figure who lacks even the confidence of his own party, can hardly be said to be in the best interests of the country.
National Post
