Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have a reasonably good chance of bringing down the government and forcing an election. They have a much lower chance of winning an election that they force, seeing as how they won’t win any seats in Quebec and they’d need massive landslides virtually everywhere else even to form a minority government.
But even if they do win and get into power and form a government, what will prevent the Liberals from doing the exact same thing to them as they are now doing to the Liberals? After all, any government the Conservatives form is bound to be a minority. And the Liberals won’t be too favourably disposed towards a Conservative government. These things work both ways.
Harper’s only choice would be to form an alliance with someone and it can’t be the Libs or the NDP. That leaves the Bloc Quebecois, the Conservatives’ de facto ally in the non-confidence motion in the first place.
Why do I sense a Liberal campaign strategy coming on with an “A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for the Bloc” theme?
Well, Isuppose it’s somewhat true that voting Conservative means letting The Blok slip through.
Although the internal dynamics mean we’re always voting AGAINST nationalism and never IN FAVOUR of anythng.
If you ask me ( and I JUST know you have!!) the Liberal campaign slogans should look like ads for Merry Maid! To pick up even one seat in Québec they’re really going to have to sanitize!
Hmmm…….Paul Martin as “french maid” …..teasing the electorate with a naughty feather duster?
Just about anything’s worth a try!
Paul Martin as Mr. Clean?!