2010′s Resolutions for Canadian Leaders
For Stephen Harper: resolve not to let your instinct for partisanship get in the way of good government. We do not want a repeat of 2008′s fiscal update, which caused the Opposition to unite, however momentarily; Canadian voters aren’t so stupid that they can’t tell the difference between a minor prod and a deliberate goad. Deliver a budget that’s seen as serious, and odds are there won’t be a need for an election.
For Michael Ignatieff: resolve that reforming the Liberal Party has priority over attaining power. You spent most of last year in the belief that you would achieve the office of Prime Minister by default. Thanks to your drift, the Liberals are now a laughingstock that cannot be taken seriously as being “ready to govern.” Your job this year is to push the Party down the path of learning contemporary governance; if that means a few old fogies and excessive partisans have to be demoted or dismissed, then so be it.
For Jack Layton: resolve to get some genuine economists into your party. You’ve come through 2009 relatively unscathed, and somehow even stronger than Ignatieff when it comes to commanding public respect. While no one expects you to abandon socialist principle, if you’re serious about turning the NDP into the genuine voice of the Left then you’re going to need some pragmatism in your policies, and that means someone needs to educate your caucus about economic realities.
For Gilles Duceppe: resolve to find a worthy successor. I’m sure you’ll laugh at the irony that a sovereigntist is the most experienced federal political leader. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re now approaching your 21st year as an MP, as well as your 14th as Bloc leader. If you truly believe that the Bloc needs to be a necessary presence in federal politics for Quebec, then you’re going to have to think seriously about finding someone as a successor, lest the BQ be seen in Quebec as approaching stagnation.
For Elizabeth May: resolve to expand your horizons. Simple fact of life: so long as you insist on seeing everything through the lens of environmentalism, the vast majority of eligible Canadians will see no reason to vote for you. If Copenhagen proved one thing, it should have demonstrated that eco-philosophy is not as powerful a political force as everyone assumed it to be.
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January 1st, 2010 at 17:51
Managing a minority Government is at best a tough challenge.
Trying to remove tax dollars from a party that wants to destroy our nation was not a “goad”. For some it was a principled decision to defend the integrity of our Nation by cutting off subsidies for treason. The fact that these phony subsidies would be cut off for all parties was clear evidence of a fair and even hand.
Mr Harper’s error was in overestimating the courage within his parties ranks. One might want to remember the phrase; ” when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. In this instance the conservative party supporters may have been a tad weak.
January 1st, 2010 at 18:02
Through the lens of hindsight, I am starting to wonder if that fiscal update, deemed by many on the right and left as a terrible mistake for Stephen Harper, was in fact a brilliant tactical move. When you break down the numbers from the 2006 and 2008 elections, a coalition is really the only logical chance of the Liberal Party attaining the PMO, unless there is a massive shift in public opinion.
By triggering the coalition deal right after the election and when Stephane Dion was still leader, he essentially made it so that the mere thought of a left wing Coalition is radioactive. Now all the Liberals are afraid to even talk about and will deny it is a possibility even when it should clearly be on their minds. Harper took some heat for it, but he may have shut the door on the most likely method of the LPC gaining power. That picture with Duceppe and Layton shaking hands in front of a victorious Stephane Dion was worth a million words in the minds of Canadians.
January 1st, 2010 at 18:28
after watching the opposition screeching non-stop for the last year, at all things Tory, we can only hope there will be an election, and we can look forward to the removing of the political party subsidy, AND the annual billion dollar bailout of the CBC
January 1st, 2010 at 19:18
Democracy is dead, and no one cares. When Paul Martin cancelled opposition days, that was righteous. Pausing Parliament while we host the Olympics, that is downright criminal.
January 1st, 2010 at 20:07
What Harper did was right, the parties should not be socialized and subsidized by taxpayers.
Jack is a communist, economics and communism don’t mix.
E.May should phuck off back to the USA and take her international green movement with her, The Greens should either severe ties with the international movement or quit calling themselves a Canadian political party, the strings are pulled outside Canada ,they should not be allowed to run in National elections as their commitment is not to Canada.
January 1st, 2010 at 22:37
I agree the top priority should be to get rid of the Bloc because, besides everything else, the Bloc money and manpower helps prop up the Parti Quebecois, which earlier last year was unpopular and weak. In Quebec this means if the provincial Liberals are ever voted out we will once again have the Parti Quebecois in power as they are the opposition in waiting.