The National Citizens Coalition held a special luncheon with guest speaker David Frum this afternoon.
Our timing was lucky.
When we planned this event back in the fall, we had no idea there would be a federal election and certainly no idea the Conservatives would win the election.
Anyway, David’s talk was excellent.
One of the interesting points he raised was the possibility that the Liberals might seek to topple the Conservative government much quicker than pundits would have us believe.
Frum reasons that a quick humiliation of Stephen Harper in Parliament and a subsequent snap election might be the Liberal Party’s only hope of returning to power anytime soon.
That’s because Frum believes the impending Liberal leadership race will be a blood-soaked affair pitting Chreientites against Martinites in a civil war that will cripple the party for years.
Martin and his supporters will do anything to avoid that.
And just remember that’s essentially what happened to Joe Clark’s minority government in 1979.
Clark’s budget defeat gave the Liberals an opening to return Pierre Trudeau, who was stepping down, to power.
Can Martin pull the same trick?
What a scary thought.
Oh and Frum made one more brilliant point.
He noted that the NCC played an “absolutely vital” role in the defeat of the Liberal Party.
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5 comments:
I can't believe that, without any funds, the Liberal party would attempt to hold another election. Furthermore, I believe that the Martinites have moved on and are looking for a new leader to support (McKenna most reasonably). They've been crippled and all parties, including the Liberals, have exhausted themselves with this long campaign. Martin's time in the sun is over and his supporters have accepted that and moved on optimistically. Fortunately, I think the leadership race will allow Prime Minister Harper to get his ideas through Parliament while the Liberals duke it out and air their dirty laundry in public.
-Mike
Victoria, BC
Mike is correct. Let me add another reason why the Liberals would fail at this: The BQ. The Bloc does not want to face the Quebec electorate again. With Quebec warming to Harper, the Bloc would only lose more seats which would water down the Bloc's cause cause even more. The government can't fall without the Bloc's blessing.
I sure hope David Frum has little influence on the Harper government. Considering the radical right wing policies he promoted within the Bush administration, I say no way to social conservatism and imperialism here in Canada, which David Frum advocates. Economic conservatism I support, but thats it. People voted for change, but not radical change. The Tory win wasn't only because the Tories had strong ideas, rather it was because people wanted to throw out the Liberals and the Tories were the best vehicle to do that.
There won't be another election until Harper forces one. Rationale:
- as Anonymous stated above, the Bloc will be incrementally supplanted in francophone Quebec by Harper's Conservatives. Harper's got Duceppe right where he wants him.
- the Liberals are broke, leaderless and bereft of policy. It will take them several years to fix this.
Time would seem to be on Harper's side...
Ian Macdonald at the Forum on Public Policy said abou the same as David Frum.
For the Libs ..it isn't about Canada, it is about POWER.But Harper is NOT a Joe Clark. VF
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