Pen Meets Paper, Dec 15, '08

Pen Meets Paper
Opinion by Helge Nome
Stephen Harper's days as the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of his party are likely numbered. The “Economic Update” presented to Parliament recently was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The aggressive nature of the proposals put the old Reform Party's platform on center stage and galvanized the opposition parties into action after several years of bickering in Parliament. Harper thought he had the Liberals over a barrel with a discredited leader in the form of Stephan Dion and chose the path of the bully to gain added advantage. What he forgot was that when an animal is cornered, it is likely to bite, and it so happens that this animal has more muscle behind its teeth than Harper does. That was one big mistake.
The next one came when Harper, now backed into his own corner, started sneering at Quebec, alienating that part of the country as indicated by Jean Charet's Liberals winning a majority in the recent provincial election there. Prior to that, Harper had alienated Atlantic Canada by being branded a “liar” by the conservative Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams. In fact, Harper has managed to get himself branded as”a man who can not be trusted” by people from all sides of the political spectrum. All of which proves that Stephen Harper is not up to the task of being the Prime Minister of Canada. No more so than Brian Mulroney and his “cash in brown paper bags” or Paul Martin and his “Canada Steamship Line” getting federal contracts and being registered in Liberia.
The problem now is for the Central Canadian Money Establishment to find a credible leader for the Liberal Party of Canada and then throw its media weight in behind him. Is that man Michael Ignatieff? Time will tell.