Election +5

Jack Layton has been making noises that he might be able to work with the Conservative government on some issues. Despite his initial skepticism, he's sounding more conciliatory and ready to deal on a half-dozen issues where left and right appear to intersect.

"I am going to make a legitimate, determined effort to find things where there can be common action," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"I believe there are ideas in all of our platforms for the parties to get something done." See
CTV.ca

It appears that the Liberal coffers didn't sustain as big a hit as had been rumoured.
With voter turnout up from the last election, the Liberals will get an annual Elections Canada subsidy of about $7.8 million, which the party says is "a manageable" $1.3 million or so less than it received before.

"We will have a debt, but it won't be nearly as much as some people have suggested. It will be a few million dollars, I would anticipate," said party president Mike Eizenga, who added that all the spending has not yet been tallied. "We think we will be able to have it pretty much retired by the end of the year."

The Liberals wouldn't comment on their finances during the campaign, which allowed rumours to swirl that the party was about $33 million in debt.

Eizenga dispelled those rumours yesterday. "We were debt-free in the fall," he said.

It appears that Frank McKenna, the current golden boyof the Martin machine, is not only a business Liberal but also spent many years as Premier of New Brunswick fighting the establishment of abortion clinics in his province. Hardly a poster boy for liberalism after all. He seems far more right wing than Stephen Harper.For the gory details, see Angry in the Great White North.

For some insight into the evolution of Stephen Harper into a moderate and pragmatist, see article by Susan Delacourt in the Star.

Jim Traversoffers some good insights into why the Liberals need to search for the soul of the party before they try to pick a saviour.

Robert Fulford in the National Post reminds us of "the great unwritten rule of Canadian politics: We never make premiers into prime ministers. It's not something we do." He details the many failed attempts by provincial premiers to become Prime Minister. some words of caution here for Frank McKenna, Bob Rae and Brian Tobin, all of whom are being touted as potential candidates for the Liberal leadership.