Harper’S Resignation Would Defuse Crisis

There can be no doubt this present crisis centers around the prime minister and not his party. He was the one who put forth the volatile legislation against the advice of his own staff and MPs. It is well known decision making in his government emanates from his office and it is very much in his nature to want to stick it to the Opposition; recklessly and very irresponsibly using a time of national crisis for partisan games.  His actions have the appearance of a childish act of spite – so the electorate won’t give me a majority I will govern as if I have one-and screw the Opposition.

But Harper’s role of the dice was a bad one. It galvanized the opposition parties and now his government teeters on the verge of collapse only weeks after the election.

Needless to say the national media’s right wing boo-birds are in full chorus denouncing the coalition as a bunch of shameless, arrogant upstarts. The coalition though is only doing what Oppositions are supposed to do: challenge the right to govern at a time of egregious effrontery. The right wing boo-birds render themselves fools as they try vainly to defend the indefensible- like the earth is flat, black is white, and the PM did nothing wrong.

The boo-birds also argue who has the legitimate right to govern?  They might be reminded that Harper’s conservatives   only have 38 per cent of the popular vote. They might also be reminded that this is Harper’s second minority government.  When the right was split Jean Chretien had no problem gaining successive majority governments. Now, facing a split left, and the once daunting Liberals struggling to survive Harper cannot gain a majority.  This says something about Harper, his party, and this country called Canada!

In the previous election Harper was granted the most grudging minority in the history of the country. He might have taken a hint and vacated the leadership, paving the way for a successor who would distance the party from its radical Reform/Alliance roots and package it as a more acceptable option to Canadian voters- and this most recent election could have had a much more pleasing outcome for this neophyte party. Harper though is a person blind with personal ambition and consumed by a vindictive partisanship. He is willing to sacrifice the national interest and his party to his excessive ego-centrism.

When the right was united there was a drive to find a star candidate to lead the newly minted CPC party. None was found so Harper became leader by default. Because of his close association with both Reform and the Alliance he could only be a transitional leader. But again, by default, he became prime minister. Harper is so fixated on his personal ambition to establish a conservative dynasty he has failed to realize the stark political reality that he can only be a transitional leader. The CPC may be two or three leaders away from a majority-if ever.

 Majority governments in Canadian politics may indeed be a thing of the past as the country fractures into regionalism and wariness in granting any party a majority. This newly minted coalition may be the first of many.  Where our political elites have refused to establish an effective system of proportionate representation it will come about in a cruder form as coalition governments- but that is another subject for another time.

Harper’s conservatives have no doubt gloated over the Liberal’s leadership woes and there can be no doubt Harper saw this as an opportune time to try and slide his wicked legislation past them; but he under estimated the enemy. 

The CPC party has been so preoccupied with the expedience of exercising power and its rambunctious partisanship it has failed to address its own leadership crisis. Harper as transitional leader should have been gone by now and with the present crisis his resignation becomes mandatory.  The only question now is: Will he do it gracefully, or will he take his party and government down with him? By unwittingly deferring their own leadership crisis Conservatives may now propel Liberals back to being the natural governing party.

 Harper is in contempt of Parliament and guilty of putting partisanship ahead of the national interest in a time crisis.  His further presence as prime minister is politically toxic.

We are about to find out if the Right Honorable member is indeed honorable.