I am enjoying the new narrative being presented, that Ignatieff has now violated the Government's confidence in his latest gaffe over the Governor General's term. The PM was considerate enough to consult the opposition on the pending selection, and Iggy responded to this private request for feedback by making public demands. It creates the feeling that there is no opportunism too small that he wouldn't compromise what's best for the country for his own personal political gain. As Don Martin and others have said, he has now eliminated whatever possibility she had of being extended by demanding such, especially considering the power she wields in our minority government.
New polling data shows increasingly negative numbers on Iggy's leadership, and you have to wonder what rumblings and grumblings are taking place behind enemy lines. There's just about no way he can win an election, and it shouldn't take very long before Team Rae starts sharpening their long knives. Meanwhile, Iggy also seems to skip work a lot. I keep a close eye on the Commons, and for such a sacred sovereign institution that demands our full non-prorogation attention, he sure finds a lot of excuses not to be there.
Lately he has been skipping work to hold town hall meetings. Why is that significant? Well you might remember that when Parliament was prorogued and the Government members said they were going back to their constituencies to collect feedback through town hall meetings; Iggy was outraged and said they should be in Ottawa passing legislation. Now Parliament is back in session, and he is skipping work to hold town hall meetings??? This is insane! To understand the level of hypocrisy in this contradiction of previous policy statements, you would have to re-watch the pressers where Iggy was piously railing on the necessity of "the Sovereign" legislature.
'As Don Martin and others have said, he has now eliminated whatever possibility she had of being extended by demanding such, especially considering the power she wields in our minority government.'
ReplyDeleteConsidering that she did not allow the coalition to take over, maybe that was his whole purpose - after all, the Liberals can't be thrilled with her decision, and are making sure that there is no possibility of her term being extended.
I don't think Iffy is that smart. He simply wanted to politicize the process and taint whoever Harper eventually appoints. However, if Iffy can't be trusted to be consulted on the next GG how can he be trusted with sensitive national security documents on the afghan detainee issue.
ReplyDeleteTrick question.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean can he be trusted to continue
a) F$#%^ up everything he touches?
b) learn how to keep his mouth closed until he gets good advice?
His inexperience and his team's failures have given us over a year to rebuild for another campaign.
His party has not repaired their standing since the historic loss of 2008 in popular vote.
The Liberals are two campaigns away from bankruptcy as they operating at break even. (or less)
What can Canadians expect next from Michael Ignatieff, whose absence from Canada for 34 years has placed him out of touch with Canadian parliamentary traditions, on which our government relies to a great extent as a democratic tool in governing.
ReplyDeleteHe has decided, that the appointment of the Governor General, is a fair topic for open, political and partisan debate. The burning question is how far is he prepared to take that debate on the Governor General.
Buoyed by the Speaker's recent ruling ( which yet may go down as the greatest faux pas of Speaker's rulings in parliamentary history, because common sense is still the most important virtue that any democracy must have and employ to flourish and not short term political gain).
"Before us are issues that question the very foundations upon which our parliamentary system is built," Mr. Milliken said during his 45-minute ruling. "In a system of responsible government, the fundamental right of the House of Commons to hold the government to account for its actions is an indisputable privilege and, in fact, an obligation."
What is there to prevent Ignatieff from making a motion in parliament to propose a name of his choice as next Governor General or to propose a motion that the government's choice, after it is made, is not acceptable to most parliamentarians given that it is "the fundamental right of the House of Commons to hold the government to account" (Can't we just envisage Bloc support for Ignatieff as this is just manna from heaven for the Bloc as a wedge issue to buttress their argument that the system in Canada does not work)
How far will Ignatieff go, and what parliamentary turmoil is he prepared to foist on Canadians, in his selfish quest for power, aided and abetted by his ignorance of parliamentary traditions due to being AWOL for 34 years?
What may save Canada and Canadians is that if this is the vision and process ( along with the scandalous actions of carnival cheques, doorknobs, wafergate, H1N1) that Ignatieff and the Liberals offer Canadians to return them to power, it is doomed to failure, as Canadians bask as their government leads the world in exiting the recession and receives bouquets on a daily basis from international agencies and governments for their actions and leadership.