From Jane Taber in the Globe and Mail. The bottom part of the quote is what interested me.
The strategy, ironically, was set with the help of Mr. Harper during his negotiations with Mr. Ignatieff: In return for supporting the Tory budget bill last June, the Prime Minister agreed to Mr. Ignatieff’s request for a special Tory-Liberal working group to find ways of reforming the employment insurance system.
Liberal strategists say, however, that was only one part of the deal. More important was their success in prying from the Conservatives a commitment to give them a fall opposition day.
This would give Mr. Ignatieff his opportunity to try to defeat the government if the EI reforms did not go his way.
The government controls the dates of opposition days. The Liberals feared that they would be loaded up at the end of the sitting in December, making it virtually impossible for the opposition to defeat the government because it would mean forcing an election campaign over the holiday season. And with the Olympics in February, the next opportunity to take down the government would likely not happen until the budget in the spring – giving the Harper Tories possibly another seven months to govern.
By that time, too, the economy could be well on its way out of recession, something for which Canadians would most likely credit the government.
For all those reasons, a fall election seems the most advantageous for the Liberals.
They realized, more recently, that EI reform was not an issue that captivated Canadians. It was a dud and they needed to distance themselves from it.
Still, insiders say, Mr. Ignatieff initially wanted to trust Mr. Harper, believing he was sincere that he wanted changes to the system.
“I think Michael genuinely believed that if Harper showed some interest in his employment insurance stuff … Michael’s plans might have looked a lot different,” a senior Liberal strategist said. “There is a Pollyanna quality to Michael that shouldn’t be underestimated.”
I don’t know if the senior Liberal strategist meant to take a shot at Michael Ignatieff but I was impressed with his a leader believing that we can work together on the solution. Other than the chattering class, who enjoys a hyper partisan Ottawa? At the same time if the Conservatives won’t take bipartisanship seriously and are in a minority government position, why dither on whether or not to pull the plug.
Strategist Bruce Anderson offers up some points on how the Tories can win the next election.
Finally, the Conservatives should try to avoid being cast as the party of moderate ambition and small ideas. Just as Mr. Ignatieff needed to walk swiftly away from looking as though he was going to force an election over EI rules, Mr. Harper probably can’t win an election because people want a tax break for a home renovation project.
Of course I think this is all irrelevant, I think the Bloc will come down with the flu during the Opposition Day and sit this one out allowing the government to survive the fall and into the spring.
