All Talk but No Action: Why the Threat of Forcing Another Fall Election Keeps the Liberals out of Power

Well, so much for the Liberal-NDP-BQ coalition.

We are barely into the fall session of Parliament, and we have seen the major leaders pick up right where they left off last time. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff rolled the dice and openly said that his party would introduce a non-confidence vote as soon as the opportunity presented itself, thereby forcing yet another election. Recently Stephen Harper came out and publicly asked Canadians for a majority Conservative government.

Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe, however, tactfully listened to their pollsters, who must have told them that the Canadian public was none too thrilled about another costly election when the focus in the House should be on navigating the country into economic recovery. Instead, the Bloc hopped into bed with the Conservatives, at least temporarily, and is propping up the government, thus avoiding an election. The NDP is staying out of the whole deal, opting to abstain from no confidence motions brought on by the Liberals.

Photo: Robert J. Galbraith

a) make the Canadian public uneasy

b) cause his erstwhile allies in Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe to distance themselves from his stance

c) give the Conservatives enough ammo to win a public relations battle

d)  and finally, lose supporters within his own party, as evidenced by Quebec Lieutenant Denis Coderre's resignation at the end of September over what he termed interference by the "leader's inner circle in Toronto."

Coderre's resignation, combined with the BQ's support of the Conservatives, makes for interesting discourse at this point in the game. It now seems that a snap election may just well be what the doctor ordered for the governing party. No party can gain a majority without Quebec, and now key Liberal organizers in the province are distancing themselves from the Liberal leader, as are fellow Quebecers who fall under the BQ banner.

The last time the Liberal Party found itself in a leadership crisis, at least it could count on the loyal support of its key Quebec contingent. Now, less than a year into his tenure as leader, Ignatieff took a gamble and lost. He says that his party has recovered financially from the last election and is raring to go, but is that just posturing as well? Polls this past summer saw the Liberals neck-and-neck with the Conservatives in terms of popularity, and it appeared that the Harper government had peaked in terms of its popularity among Canadians. It appears as if someone miscalculated what the threat of a non-confidence vote would do. Instead of rallying the Canadian public to the side of the Liberals, the move reignited the momentum that the Conservatives enjoyed before the last two elections.

Now, the question remains if Ignatieff can regain some of his lost credibility this session, or will he continue to cry wolf?

Previously:

Culture witnessed Michael Ignatieff discussing his True Patriot Love.

Jerome Bastien questioned the benefit of left-wing coalitions.

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