Stephen Harper is a shrewd politician. The question comes down to whether Mr. Harper understands today's politics, or is he operating like a tactician from the past? It used to be that politicians in Ottawa could get away with just about any political manoeuvre. Mr. Harper understands the political game well.
In the past, by the time the political antics were filtered down to the common person, it was too late to react - Ottawa was on to a new game. The voter was always one step behind. Mr. Harper must have been taken aback when a website (Canadians against the Prorogation of Parliament) sprang up against his most recent prorogation of Parliament that attracted a hundred thousand members before you could say Jack Robinson. And the movement is still gaining momentum.
But what must really irritate a man like the prime minister, who seems to crave control, is that a negative Canadian political story has spread far and wide. Even CNN has picked up the story. Imagine that, a Canadian story must have plenty of moxie for the best-known American station to go with it. Most Americans can't find Canada on the map.
Ah Mr. Harper, you can't trust much these days. Still, there is one thing you can trust. You can trust that Michael Ignatieff will not have the moxie (the other meaning of the word) to take advantage of your confusion.
Any leader with courage and ability would have followed through on the coalition that was formed at another time when the people felt that you had to be kept in check. Had Mr. Ignatieff not reneged on that agreement, your government may have been long gone by now.
As it is, you will just have to wait it out and it will blow over, as those things inevitably do. Come March you will be back to business as usual, unless the people keep it going and, truth to tell, with the current mood there's no way to predict what will happen.
It's too bad that the Liberal leader has become such a disappointment. Mr. Ignatieff thinks Canadians don't want another election, but is he astute enough to recognize an issue that will charge Canadians? Could this be the issue?
A few weeks ago disillusionment with the present opposition leadership prompted a page to spring up on Facebook, geared toward enticing Brian Tobin back to politics. My first response was Brian Tobin would never consider doing such a thing.
Still, we need people with a lack of fear who have the courage of their convictions, to take us out of the Reform Party mess. There are only two federally experienced people who spring to mind - Brian Tobin and George Baker. Whether we like their politics or not, we have to admit they are both courageous and fearless.
That is the strange thing. Mr. Harper, too, has the courage of his convictions. It is the outcome of his courage that is in question. If he is trying to prevent Canadians from finding out what the government is doing behind closed doors, such as covering up the torture of Afghan detainees, that is the old way of conducting business. That is not what he was elected to do.
There are a number of issues that should be in full view of the Canadian public at this time, but that is not the reason for the outrage that Canadians feel. We are outraged because we know as soon as citizens relax their vigilance the door is left open for abuse. It is akin to the old saying, "Give a person an inch and he'll take a foot."
This is not the first time the prime minister has prorogued parliament. The first time was for 32 days, from Sept. 14 to Oct. 16, 2007. After that, Stephen Harper shut down parliament for 53 days from Dec. 4, 2008, to Jan. 26, 2009. Now, Mr. Harper has added 10 more days to make 63, from Dec. 30, 2009, to March 3, 2010.
The prime minister is getting pretty close to taking that foot. Pretty soon, if we don't protest, whenever there's an issue a prime minister of any stripe wants to go away, they will think nothing of closing parliament.
Mr. Harper got elected on a platform of open government and accountability. Yet, the Harper government's actions demonstrate the opposite. We have never seen a more secretive government.
The Harper government does not seem to understand accountability. Is accountability just a word to them? This is a government that treats its citizens like children. Keep Canadians in the dark and make decisions for them. Father Harper knows best. And if they complain leave them alone long enough and they will forget. The Harper way of conducting the business of government harks back to a time when secrecy was par for the course.
Does Stephen Harper remain prime minister because no one in the opposition can silence their own ambitions? Is it even possible to attract a person who can put Canada first? We can only hope that there are enough watchdogs to stop the march of the dictators.
info@ganderbeacon.ca
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