There are signs that the anticipated Harper majority in the next election is slipping away:
1. The inept manner in which the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon has been handled is a public relations disaster for the government. Today the Globe reported that this debacle was being attributed to micromanagement by PMO causing delays of several days in mounting the evacuation.
2. Also today we have the results of a new poll which indicates that support for the Afghan mission is falling sharply.Almost half of voters surveyed said they want the Prime Minister to immediately withdraw troops from Afghanistan. If the situation worsens there in the coming months, the electoral prospects for the Conservatives could diminish significantly.
The best thing the Conservatives have going for them is the leaderless Liberals, coupled with the fact that the perceived front runner Michael Ignatieff is out on the same foreign policy limb as Harper.
Stay tuned.
2006/07/20
Harper majority slipping away
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4 comments:
Harper has done a relatively good job of acting Prime Ministerial in the early months.However,he has made some blunders recently and these could prove costly. Will he pull the plug for an early election to take advantage of the current Liberal disarray?
The government has bungled Afghanistan and the Lebanese evacuation. And Stevie has been cosying up to Bush and dancing to his tune.
He's going to have to suck it up and squirm for a while yet. What can he possibly dream up to call an election over now that wouldn't show him up as the direct cause?
Truly, there are many ways he can be shown to be the Prime Mover on a lot of "blunders," e.g., Environment, Child Care, Emerson, Fortier, Conventiongate, free press, debates, "free votes", SSM, Isreal and Lebanon, Softwood, the "race-based" fishery, to name a few.
Personally, I want an election after Tax Day, 2007.
Then we'll see who perks up. Big business and oil will probably be thrilled and want to keep the game going, but surely the new Accountability Act will keep those players in check...
It will be a thrilling ride to be sure.
Yes, he's taking some hits now. But Lebanon is short term. Afghanistan is longer term, but still defensible provided both Harper and the Tories hammer in and hammer often on the "global responsiblities" meme.
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