Prime Minister Dion?
It’s official. Stephane Dion will lead the coalition government if they can bring down the Conservatives next week.
This is ridiculous. Prime Minister Stephane Dion? Now, I believe he is an extremely smart man who could probably be a great leader with better communication skills.
The problem is this: under Dion the Liberals had one of their worst ever showings in the last election. They lost seats, they lost votes, they lost money. The party is effectively broke. Dion promised to resign as leader by May, to allow someone else to rebuild the Liberals.
And now he might be prime minister?
All three opposition leaders are working together on a letter to Governor General Michaelle Jean, asking her to give them control of the government if the Conservatives lose a confidence motion next week. Yeah, the party the Canadian people voted back into power a couple of months ago.
UPDATE
I certainly hope this will happen, even though no one is really talking about it and it seems like a slim chance.
Canada does not need another election to be called less than two months after the last campaign ended. To put the federal government into neutral for another two months, and then start again, could be devastating for the economy.
However, the option of a Liberal-NDP coalition is no better. The problem is not the nature of the two parties themselves, but that such a coalition could only govern with the consent of the Bloc. Every action of the coalition would therefore be measured against two touchstones: does it transfer enough money to Quebec, enough being defined by the Bloc; and does it lead in the long term to the destruction of Canada? To place every act of Parliament in the hands of a party dedicated to the end of Canada would be folly.
Fortunately, there is a third way, and one that has a good deal of constitutional precedent. The Governor General could simply refuse to accept Mr. Harper’s resignation, just as prime ministers and premiers in the past have often refused to accept letters of resignation from cabinet ministers. The Governor General could say that accepting Harper’s resignation is not in the best interests of the country because it would set in motion a choice between two unacceptable alternatives.
Cheryl
newfcollins said,
December 1, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Dion couldn’t lead his own party, and now he’s expected to be the leader of three? Good luck with that. Let’s start a pool of how long it will take him and the parties to self-destruct.
I think Jean would be smarter to say, if you don’t want to vote for the confidence motion, don’t. If you vote against it, it’s an election.
I bet Dion would back down pretty quickly.
On the other hand, this will show Harper that he shouldn’t be making so many confidence motions.
Mike said,
December 2, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Thoughts I recently received from of a person I respect
At a time when a young, black leader is reaching across the aisle to seek divergent views that will challenge his own perspective and enable the best decisions….
At a time when world markets looked to the Canadian model of financial stability built on the sober foresight that greed and unbridled ambition were not best…
At a time when voter turnout reached record levels in the traditionally unengaged, uninterested US electorate on the wings of hope and Canadians chose to vote “none of the above” ….
At a time when the global collective is looking for leadership, ideas and solutions and are willing to lay down long standing disputes for the greater good…
Canada’s leaders have seen fit to demonstrate our very worst nature and in so doing, have truly squandered Canada’s opportunity to stand tall on the world stage at a pivotal moment in history.
Were it so that we could harness the sense of disgust and disappoinment shared by so many Canadians today to effect real change in governance.