Tracey, interesting observation. I think he will try to prorogue but doubt he will resign; it’s not in his DNA as I think one commentator on TV put it.

I think Harper will Prorogue parliament and then resign.
What will the coalition do then?

Fair point. There might be a difference though if they had to put together an effective campaign for the electorate. For one thing, it doesn’t take any money to form a coalition.

But all technical arguments aside, I think most folks actually don’t vote for their local rep in federal elections …

This is an interesting point. By interesting I mean, I agree.

Ron, you have the wrong attribution. It was KevinG that made that comment.

Dirk said, “Nonsensical coalition,wtf… your going to have to explain that one.”

I did explain it, read the whole paragraph. One man’s cooperation is another’s corruption. Also, I have stated no “fear” of the Bloc but have only pointed to the absurdity of it being part of the government.

They’re not in such disarray that they can’t agree on a coalition, set a schedule for a change in leadership, campaign for that coalition quite effectively *and* take Harper to task.

They’re managing all that while I write this, are they not?

You’re exactly right about the NDP and Bloc policy positions, though, at best.

From Dirk: “now I would agree if you said how childish Harper was being, but to tar the other three party’s with the same brush is well,cynical

Cynical maybe, but not incorrect. Look on it as a game of Cheat or Tegwar, and think about how people act when they think they’re winning.

From James: “There really is no need for an election. We don’t elect governments, we elect parliaments.’

Technically you’re correct–and I visited your blog and I certainly respect your position and thoughtfulness.

But all technical arguments aside, I think most folks actually don’t vote for their local rep in federal elections; they vote the party or the leader, or both, and the way they register that preference is to elect the candidate who wears that mantle. That’s maybe not how it should be, but I think it’s pretty much how it really is.

WTF..now I would agree if you said how childish Harper was being,but to tar the other three party’s with the same brush is well,cynical.The parliamentary system is a parliamentary system after all,Harper is the PM not the president,part of his responsibility is to build house confidence,he failed,he chose to play political/partisan games.The Libs ,NDP and BLOC did the only thing they could do,that’s how our system was designed to work.

TH said…”An election should also put to rest the nonsensical coalition that has come together between the Liberals, Bloc and NDP. If it is not enough that we are supposed to hold our noses at the sheer absurdity of the Bloc holding court in this country, we also must endure a new Prime Minister who doesn’t even hold the confidence of his own Party, let alone the electorate”…

Nonsensical coalition,wtf… your going to have to explain that one.Also this fear of the BLOC is totally over blown,look at it positively,.i.e Canadians of all political persuasions working together to solve/deal with issues that affect us all( including the people of Quebec) Pray tell,what could possibly be wrong with that ?

And, given that, what we should be doing is telling our local MPs how we think they should react, since right now they are our direct connection with this parliament.

And who’s paying for all this? And how?

No. Let’s see what a coalition can do.

You’re right, of course–but usually the other folks at the scene of an accident don’t get busy smothering the occupants in hopes they can abscond with what’s in the trunk.

There are no good guys in this scenario. It’s just chimps, hyenas and buzzards.

1. Run the candidates who ran in the previous election (save money on signs, et cetera)
2. In ridings where a Liberal/New Democrat/Bloc member won, have the other members of the coalition sit out the election.
3. In ridings where a Conservative won, have the members of the coalition look to see who placed second, then have the other members of the coalition sit out the election.

Put this into place, and we might finally have a big load of ridings with MPs who are elected with 50% of the local popular vote, or more.

Yeah…that’s probably the best way to deal with this absurd situation. I don’t see how any of the so-called “leaders” or their parties can claim to have any sort of superior confidence or support of the folks on the street.

Certainly the Liberals would have a leader in place. It would have to be Dion because you couldn’t possibly unite a party behind a leader whose leadership would be ratified later.

Political outcomes are difficult to predict though and you may be right that Harper would pay a steep price for his miscalculation.

That’s not the way it looks to me. It seems like support Harper is strong among people who voted for him and support for the coalition is strong among those who voted for the coalition parties.