Liberals support government on the budget, despite critics

The Liberals, through their leader Michael Ignatieff, have informed Parliament yesterday that they will support the Conservative budget, minus an amendment requiring that the government present updates to the House regarding their budget promises to verify funding actually goes out the door.

The Conservatives have told the House, through the Government House Leader Jay Hill, that they feel this amendment is acceptable, and in fact is an accountability measure that similar the ones they would have taken in either case.

"It does nothing that we don't normally do, which is report back to Parliament upon the progress that we intend to make in ad-dressing the economic situation that faces our nation," government House leader Jay Hill told reporters.

The Calgary Herald elaborates on that point:

“…In any case, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already promised regular updates: on Page 72 of the budget document, the government commits itself to providing "an initial report on progress this summer, and responsible ministers will provide an update to Parliament the first week following the summer recess. The government will reassess and, if necessary, reallocate funding in the 2009 Economic and Fiscal Update.”

The Conservatives are, so far, satisfied with the Liberal position. Jay Hill is quoted in Sun Media as being “very pleased” with their support. "We look forward to working co-operatively with them," Hill also said.

Ignatieff says that these reports to Parliament will hold the Conservatives “on probation” and on a “very tight leash,” vowing to defeat the government after the presentation of any of these reports, which will be considered confidence motions, if the Government’s response is deemed inadequate.

However, Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe argued outside the Commons following Ignatieff’s press conference yesterday that the Liberals would likely avoid bringing the Conservatives down at these times, by saying that Canadians need an election “like a hole in the head,” in reference to an earlier statement by Ignatieff.

Many have criticized Ignatieff and the Liberals for not having had the guts to seek more in their amendment, for example the softening of the eligibility rules for those seeking Employment Insurance. NDP leader Jack Layton openly criticized Ignatieff, saying the coalition was now between Harper and Ignatieff. Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe also said that the coalition, agreed upon in December, was formally dead. A humorous “obituary” is even featured in the Toronto Star.

The Star has officially rallied with Ignatieff’s position, in an editorial published today. Though their position was slightly nuanced, saying that the Liberals could have tried pushing for more substantial changes to the budget, their choice was the best to hold off rushing to power by defeating the Conservatives on this budget.

“Yes, the budget fell short of the accord's demands in other areas, including the easing of eligibility requirements for employment insurance (EI) and an early learning and child care program. So it was less than perfect. It was, instead, a compromise – the basis on which minority parliaments are supposed to work.

“Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is right, therefore, not to rush to the barricades with the other two opposition parties to defeat this budget and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government with it. That would mean either putting the coalition in office (which, unfortunately, many parts of the country would see as illegitimate) or forcing yet another election (which would be the fourth in five years).”

Yet, the Star also featured conflicting views on the subject with one article saying that Ignatieff and the Liberals had missed a chance to help the country. Thomas Walkom writes:

…He has missed a chance to force Stephen Harper's government to markedly improve Tuesday's budget – to plug gaping holes in its approach to recession and
eliminate small, but loathsome ideological leftovers slipped into its back pages.

[…]

Instead, the Liberals could have insisted on substantive conditions. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has signalled that he's open to reasonable amendments. His only proviso is that they not contradict the budget's overall thrust.

[…]

Having listed the budget's flaws, he said his party would support it anyway.

"We are in the opposition," he explained. "We are not the government. It is the responsibility of the government to govern."

[…]

Had Ignatieff's Liberals cared enough, they almost certainly could have forced the government to back down here. But clearly they did not.

Instead, they took what, in more normal times, would be the standard opposition approach: Don't take responsibility; avoid being identified with policies that might not work; focus on the next election.

What Ignatieff forgets is that these are not normal times."

Then again, Ignatieff keeps playing the spin to his advantage, hoping Canadians will forget his actions leading up to the budget. Despite his initial attitude during pre-budgetary consultations with the Prime Minister, where he explained it was up to the government to come up with a plan, this despite the multiple attempts by the government to seek suggestions from the opposition, Ignatieff argues today that it is thanks to them that some of the good measures in the budget have been brought forward.

The Calgary Herald writes:

“…When Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff comments on the budget that anything bad belongs to the Conservatives, anything good is there because of the opposition and that the Liberals have the government "on probation"--well, what else would one expect him to say?”

Ignatieff is building himself quite a "legacy"…

In the news... a medley

Lorne Gunter tells us this morning that Layton is the biggest loser of his coalition scheme.

...it was Layton who suffered most.

First, he had a chance to do in the Liberals and replace them as the default selection on the left had he gone along with the Tories' plan to end public funding to parties. Next to the Tories, the NDP has the best chance of replacing public handouts with private donations. Layton could have crippled the Liberals; instead, he tried to vault himself into cabinet by riding into power as the Liberals' shotgun.

With the revealing of the coalition, Layton was also exposed as a self-serving opportunist with no compunction about making a deal with separatists, even weeks before the Tories lit the match on the crisis. And with the coalition's demise, Layton is now even further from power than he was before.

He also reminds us of a sad political reality in Canada, when it comes to the "natural governing party"

...Ignatieff will be aided [in having his mistakes forgotten] by the infinite malleability of the Liberal conscience. Anything a Liberal does can be forgotten by all other Liberals (and the vast majority of the parliamentary press gallery), if shoving it down the memory hole is in the best interest of the Liberal party.

For instance, in Saturday's Toronto Star, senior Liberal strategist Tom Axworthy wrote that Ignatieff's selection gives the Liberals their best chance in a generation of "democratic renewal of the party," even while admitting that Ignatieff's selection marked the first time since the 19th century that the Liberal rank-and-file played no direct part in choosing the party boss.

Chantal Hébert writes that all parties are quietly preparing for a spring election.

...the prospect of a popular Conservative budget only acts as an accelerant on the election flames.

That's because the opposition suspects the Conservatives are preparing for war even as they overtly seek peace, by crafting a budget designed to become the stepping stone to a spring campaign. Having consolidated their advantage in public opinion with a well-received budget, they would be free to engineer their defeat on an issue of their own choosing later in the session.

[...] If there is a community of interest between the Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc at this point, it is in bringing the Liberals to an election battle before the party has had time to regroup under a new leader.

Where is Ignatieff these days, wonder Lawrence Martin? This so-called "man of magnitude," as the columnist dubs him...

Michael Ignatieff has been completing a book over the holidays, the last chapter in a family saga. That's fine and well, but there are Liberals who wish he'd chosen another time - a better moment than the immediate aftermath of becoming party leader.

[...] By comparison to his predecessor, he is a man of magnitude. But where is the new dynamism? And where is he? At a volatile political juncture when the moment needs be seized, Iggy's off to a quiet and rather unremarkable beginning.

[...] There was no leadership race. That meant no high-profile campaign, no media-saturated convention, no hallmark speech. His overnight enthronement served the good purpose of quickly terminating the Dion stewardship. But coronations cannot be said to be democratically edifying. Rather than bolstering credibility, they can bleach it.

[...] Public opposition to the coalition idea has been allowed to cement. No concerted attempt by Mr. Ignatieff or his followers has been made to discredit misconceptions surrounding it. [...] The coalition question is one on which Mr. Ignatieff has to fish or cut bait, lest he be Dionized. He has to get himself out of the early limbo. It needs to be emphasized that he has only just begun his leadership journey. But it also needs to be emphasized that opening steps are steps remembered. His low profile speaks too much of a party inclined to stay the course, as opposed to being in a rush to change it.

While Hassan Arif, in the Telegraph Journal makes the point that Ignatieff and the Liberals' fate is out of their hands.

If the Liberals vote to support Harper's budget (or at the very least abstain) while the NDP votes against it, then Ignatieff's standing as leader could be severely damaged. For progressive-leaning Canadians, he will be seen as "collaborating with Harper" and "abdicating his role as Official opposition leader," both of which would gravely damage the Liberal Party among a crucial group of voters.

This would open the door for Jack Layton and the NDP to be the dominant voice of progressive Canadians.

The Coalition may not have caught on with the public at large, but it does enjoy a significant degree of popularity among progressive and left-leaning Canadians.

[...] The only way he could plausibly support the Conservative budget is if the NDP supports it too.

This does not seem likely unless Harper strikes a truly multi-partisan tone and offers substantial government intervention to help stimulate the economy.

This important and decisive federal budget is now 20 days away. Speculation is fine and dandy, but only the true power plays ahead will be of importance. Stay tuned...

Joke of the day: "Layton no longer trusts Harper"

From Sun News comes this hilarious headline. Did someone actually believe that Layton trusted Harper at one point or another?

And the positioning continues...

"I don't have confidence in him to deliver what he says now, because what we have experienced with Mr. Harper is that he will say anything and then reverse himself," said Layton. "He will say anything to retain power."

What about you Layton, the Liberals and your coalition, you are willing to say anything to steal power...

"If what Harper is going to recommend is the approach of the coalition, then I feel it would be better to have a government that actually believes in these ideas to do the implementation," said Layton.

Shut up Jack Layton. No one wants your coalition, no matter how many times and how differently you try to convince us. Full stop.

Should the Liberals decide to support the budget, Layton's dream of a coalition government with the Liberals will be over, and so will a rocky time in Canadian politics that has left some wondering if Ottawa is full of squabbling children rather than elected officials.

"I don't believe that's the case," said Layton.

"No doubt people will throw that kind of terminology around, but this is far from squabbling. This is ... a process that says we need a government that actually addresses an economic crisis."

And Stephen Harper's Conservatives are addressing this economic crisis. If you could remove your angry NDP leader glasses, you might notice reality once in a while.

If the budget passes, that won't be the end of Layton's challenges. In August, he will face a mandatory leadership review from his party. He's hoping his record will secure his job.

I hope NDP supporters take a long hard look at Layton and replace him. Sure, he has been the loudest, most in-your-face NDP leader in a long time, but he's insane. Will no one else realize that his tin-foil hat is on way too tight? Maybe the dippers will this time.

Layton cools the rhetoric... a bit

NDP leader Jack Layton spoke of the upcoming budget and coalition plans at the United Steelworkers annual Christmas luncheon in Toronto yesterday. The National Post colourfully adds the meeting took place "at a luxury hotel," how ironic!

During this meeting, Layton seemed to show more of the reservation he has adopted in recent days, following Michael Ignatieff's selection as Liberal interim leader.

When discussing the upcoming Conservative budget, Layton said that while he believes stimulus elements proposed by the Liberal-NDP Coalition should be included, that it may be a miracle for it to happen.

"One must always leave one's mind open to the possibility of miracles, but I don't think it's going to happen with Mr. Harper," Mr. Layton said. "We have not been able to develop confidence in Mr. Harper to deliver, because he doesn't really believe in the direction we're suggesting."

Layton continued to demand speedy action on the economy, repeating that the auto industry needs an immediate bailout. The Ontario Manufacturing Council released a study yesterday estimating employment losses linked to a collapse of the Detroit Big Three automakers in Canada to nearly 600,000 jobs within five years.

While not completely renouncing his confrontational tone, Layton remained ambiguous about his party's intentions on the Budget vote, saying only that Harper makes promises but doesn't keep them.

"It is the season of miracles and one has to keep one's mind open to that but I'll remind Canadians that Mr. Harper promised a major infrastructure program and put it in the budgets of 2006 and 2007 but mayors of most communities haven't received that money yet," he said.

Still, sounds like our friend Layton might have resigned himself to the fact that his coalition government dream is nothing more than a bargaining chip, and not a real desire on the Liberal side. He did make sure to keep it alive, at least in script, saying that he and Ignatieff has a good discussion on Monday.

"The coalition continues as a very significant presence in the debate that's taking place now."

Wearing his tin-foil hat, Layton added that if the January 27 budget were to pass, that it would only lead to a period of instability.

"Everyone will be talking if there will be an election. Every month, it'll be a new crisis," said Layton.

On the other hand, the Liberal-NDP coalition, with support from the Bloc Québécois, would offer a stable government, he said.

Yeah, good one Jack.