Throne Speech reverb...

I heard an interesting comment by political analyst Tom Flanagan on CTV's Mike Duffy Live: "This is an unprecedented situation. Usually in a minority government, the opposition is trying to bring the government down, but here it's reversed. I think for the first time in Canadian history, we have a government which wouldn't mind being defeated, but it can't seem to get the opposition to come out against it."

Proof: after Stephane Dion assured the House of Commons that his party has no intentions to bring down the government, Harper went on to say that he would treat an upcoming justice bill as a confidence vote, and would accept no amendments.

Although the Liberals still have a few more days to make a final decision, it is more likely than not that they will pussyfoot their way out of a full confrontation. After all, Harper offered enough goodies to the public by promising tax cuts, increased funding for cities, more help for seniors, etc. that it would make anyone look bad if they tried to object to any of it. There are lots who think that the tax cuts, or even a reduction of the GST, is not exactly the best idea, but these are pure ear candy for the average citizen. And who could object to the grandiose statements of "strengthening Canada's sovereignty in the world, providing economic leadership", not to speak of "tackling crime"?

It is definitely interesting to watch the reactions of different party leaders, and we are still not sure which way the winds will blow in the long run. The crucial vote will take place next Wednesday. So it is yet to be seen whether we will have an election or not...

Throne Speech 2007 or The Fate of Harper and Dion

During a long drawn out illness in the family that kept me rather busy I did not have much time to follow up on our politicians. Only the most obvious blunders have reached my little pool of attention. Now, of course, I try to catch up on the events of the last half a year, and it seems that whatever caught my attention during that hermit stage, making me form opinions in one direction or another, were not that off. Both of our top political figures, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leader Stephane Dion, are somewhat less than "charismatic". At least that is the general opinion discovered by a recently conducted poll. The questions are:
- Is their image a result of their actions?
- Are their actions weightier than their image?
In our media-heavy times I am always weary of opinions based on image. Just think, wouldn't have Albert Einstein come across as a blundering idiot occasionally in today's strong limelight? But then again, he was an academe, not a politician. And therein lies, for example, Stephane Dion's main problem.

As a matter of fact, tomorrow will be a crucial day for these two men. For one, it is an opportunity to prove the country that Mr Harper and his team will be able to create a viable roadmap for the next few years ahead of us. Let us pay close attention to how comprehensive the Conservative stance is on federal issues, the issue of Canadian deployment in Afghanistan, the environmental clean-up issue and their plans for the country's economic development.

And then I will be watching with interest what the Liberal reaction will be. Will it be knee-jerk attacks, or thoughtful opinions with measured criticism and honest support where it is due?

As for the Bloc, I could more or less predict their position, unless they have some things of their own up their sleeves.