There is nothing in Mr. Harper's approach that disarms his opponents, fundamentally broadens his party's base, or changes the game. Once the current half-hearted stimulus program is wound up, Mr. Harper has committed his government to spending all of Canada's available resources on tax cuts, and is otherwise committed to inaction on all important issues. That is an accountant's agenda – an exercise in bean counting and dismantlement – not an inspiring 'big tent' that can appeal beyond the Conservative party's core vote.
What else he said:
Mr. Ignatieff's year-end interviews included a misty-eyed commitment to reconquer Canada this winter by conducting a lengthy national tour of that place where (apparently, in Mr. Ignatieff's view) most Canadians are to be found – "the universities."
Somebody keep an eye on Iggy: make sure he's not handing out resumes.
For a former NDP strategist, he sure draws a lot of neocon commenters! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI'm alway unimpressed by what tiresome lefty activists/artistes have to say about politics, but this bit is something Liberal Central better start preparing for:
ReplyDelete"His partisan March conference is supposed to be the highlight of this homecoming tour by the Liberal Leader. It now risks even further political irrelevance, given the new script for this spring."
The jooornalitz are already primed to find the whole thing boooooooring! (and this is before they've spent several weeks partying over the Olympics) so it's going to require a really robust communications strategy to slap them into focusing on issues of genuine public interest.