The take-away from Canada 150
I was wondering what the main theme would be, in the end.
And I found it, in Ignatieff’s closing remarks — he’s going to delay cancel the corporate tax cuts (let’s be honest — if you put them off, you’re not putting them in) and spend more creating lots of “networks”.
Which is fine. I was wondering how he would distinguish himself from Harper.
This is what he has chosen. (Along with a lot of gobbely-gook about being “the most international country”. Which I think is silly.)
So this sets things up nicely for a spring or fall vote, I say.
Let’s have an election. Or we can wait till October 2012. Whatever.
Update: A commenter over here noticed what I forgot — tossing the corporate tax cuts overboard is Jack Layton’s price for working with the Liberals.
Coalition, Part Deux?
When the 41st Parliament is called, we shall see.
The thing is, the Liberals and Conservatives are much more suitable coalition partners (Iggy is the bluest of blue Liberals). Too bad about the whole “We must crush you” stuff.
You’re partly right, Greg.
About a third of the Liberals — the blue Liberals, as you and others put it — would be at home with the Tories. The other two-thirds are your kind of people — they just haven’t thought it through yet.
As for all the “We must crush you” stuff — well, aside from the dramatics, we’ve effectively had a Tory-Grit coalition since summer 2007. Each budget since then has passed with Liberal abstentions or positive votes. (The ’06 and ’07 budgets got Bloc support/abstention, you may recall.)
Heck, Martin’s 2005 budget passed first reading with a Conservative abstention and a declaration from Harper that it wasn’t all that bad. It was only once the Tory policy convention took place in March and those revelations from the Gomery inquiry took hold that he decided to take them down.
See a fun post from Wells about the prospects for a red-orange deal.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/03/29/canada-150-towards-a-new-liberal-ndp-coalition/
Actually, I’ll write a new post about that one…
With due respect to Paul, the blues are the only Liberals that count. They are running the party.