Coalition nightmare fading rapidly

Some delightful poll results from CanWest and Global National yesterday reveal that most Canadians do not want a Liberal-NDP coalition - and even want Ignatieff to vow not to work towards one:

Almost two-thirds of Canadians say they want Michael Ignatieff, the new head of the federal Liberal party, to seek a compromise with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to keep the Conservatives in power instead of joining the New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois early in the new year to defeat the minority government, according to the findings of a poll released Friday by Ipsos Reid.

[Five] per cent of those surveyed said they believe Ignatieff should try to find a compromise with Harper, compared with 27 per cent who said they should "stick with the Liberal-NDP coalition." Eight per cent said they didn't know how Ignatieff should proceed.

Poll results also suggest Canadians are so uncomfortable at the prospect of a Liberal-NDP coalition government, backed by the Bloc, that a majority - 56 per cent - would prefer going to the polls again early in 2009 if Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean is forced to choose between the two options. That number is unchanged from a similar poll conducted last week, prior to Ignatieff's promotion to the Liberal leadership.

The poll also said the Conservative party would garner 45 per cent of the vote and score a majority victory if an election were held today.

Now, if Ignatieff has a shred of common sense, he will look at this result and consider what is best for his political ambition. Bringing down the government on the budget could damage him and the Liberals for a decade, perhaps. I think he will see the same and let Stephen Harper's Conservatives govern.

The Globe and Mail also commented on the fate of the coalition agreement, with no one coming out clearly about if the prospect is still on the agenda or not.

...on the few occasions that Mr. Ignatieff has been pushed to clarify the most central question in all of Canadian politics - is the agreement to bring down Stephen Harper still in force? - the most erudite washing machine in Canadian politics goes into full spin cycle.

And out tumbles yes, no, and maybe as if they were synonyms.

I think that with the change in conviction from coalition members we can safely say that this nightmare won't return to haunt us for a good long while.