Dion squeezed from all sides

You think it's easy being leader of the official opposition?

The NDP's Thomas Mulcair is taunting the Liberals for "abandoning all claims to being the official opposition" with their refusal to vote against the Government.

And to add insult to injury, the prospects of a future Liberal spending machine have been seriously hampered by recent fiscal policy changes as I had mentioned a short while ago.

The Calgary Herald's Nigel Hannaford lays it all out in a somewhat nightmarish scenario where the Liberals regain power and how their former 'racket' to "overestimate expenses, low ball revenues, and ... come up with a fatter surplus than had been budgetted", likely won't work anymore.

I was going to highlight the best parts of this article, but it's all so good that you'll just have to sit back and read the whole thing.


Dion is out of his league.

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Update: More pressure on Dion - TORIES FLIRT WITH MAJORITY SUPPORT, POLL FINDS - Globe.

Checkmate!

John Ivison explains how Dion is going to have a hard time getting his mitts on the federal coffers even if the Liberals actually win the next election - Harper keeping Dion out of the money:

The problem for the Liberals is that Stephen Harper has devised a cunning plan that will stop the Grits getting their mitts on the cash. When the Liberal plan to re-direct the surplus toward program spending was put to the Prime Minister at a function on Monday, he responded with a grin: “I’ve already thought of that.”

Under the Tax Back Guarantee the Conservatives introduced last year, any unplanned surpluses automatically go to reduce the federal debt at the end of the fiscal year, with any savings in interest payments being re-allocated to tax relief. The Conservatives plan to make Mr. Dion’s spending plans part of their election campaign and have already run attack ads suggesting the Liberal leader is “not worth the risk” when it comes to reckless expenditure in a slowing economy.

- Forcing the Grits to be fiscally responsible, even if the present Government falls.

My admiration of Stephen Harper increases each day.

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Update: Dion's pledges thin on reality - Ivison. (Saturday Post)

The Master Chess Player

This is a fascinating time to be following Federal politics in Canada.

The most entertaining aspect of all is sitting back and observing Stephen Harper's shrewd machinations bear political fruit. We Tory backseat drivers tend to worry and obsess when we detect what we perceive to be a tactical error in policy or maneuvering, but rest assured that our Fearless Leader has a very far-sighted plan. He is always ten moves ahead of everyone else.

And this budget is no exception.

Chantel Hebert describes the breathtaking ten minutes during the budget announcement that PQ Leader André Boisclair held the fate of this Parliament in his hands. Dion had apparently already decided not to support the budget without even reading it and Jack Layton would only support it if given the political spotlight to rewrite it.

And word was out from the government that the budget would stand as is. No Liberal-NDP shenanigans this time.

So Duceppe called Boisclair to discuss the options which were obviously either to immediately go to the polls or not. Since they felt they couldn't explain the rationale behind voting down all that money to the Quebec electorate, they opted to support the budget. This has its own interesting ramifications because now they have to explain why separatists are propping up a federalist government. They are also forced to admit that federalism can have its rewards.

Brian Laghi of the Globe calls it a game of political chicken. It seems that even though Harper has a minority government, he also has carte blanche until such a time as the opposition parties decide they've had enough.

What will be the tipping point?