If you’re in a crisis and there’s an elephant in the room, the number one rule of communications is to share your observations about the elephant with your audience. Point out the elephant. Marvel at its size. And if you’re the one who invited the bloody thing into the room, apologize for doing so. Prime Minister Stephen Harper had an opportunity to do just that last night, but failed.
In this case, the elephant was a massive, sweaty, angry elephant stampeding around the room smashing the furniture, but still he ignored it. Canadians are angry at what’s going on here. No one voted for this bizarre and distasteful coalition of Liberals, NDP and Bloc. Had it been an option on the ballot, not even the most religious Dion or Layton supporter can believe it would have won.
But all of that aside, the Prime Minister caused this mess with his hamfisted attempt to kneecap the opposition parties by proposing to take away their financing. In the same economic update, he put off any mention of a stimulus package though he’d promised one just days before. Last night was his chance to apologize for his lacklustre presumption that he had the support of Parliament. Last night was his chance to say he’d withdrawn the party financing measures and that he was sorry for bringing them forward without consultation. Last night was his chance to say he was willing to work with the opposition to ensure this government - the government that Canadians elected - could continue.
But he didn’t say those things and he’s probably going to be trampled by the elephant because of it.
Of course the opposition parties deserve more disdain and criticism. To dress this naked power grab up as the only means to save the economy is to beggar belief. Nobody can possibly believe that having NDP leader Jack Layton and five of his droogs in cabinet will be good for the economy … nobody, except for Jack Layton, of course, whose party has lusted for power for years and been stymied by voters every time.
Layton is now on record saying he started plotting and scheming for this turn of events even before this Parliament began sitting. He wants his turn to spend the public purse. His plan has always been to hike taxes on our corporate sector and to give away billions in social spending. That approach, in our current economic crisis, will be a two-headed monster that will devour any economic advantage Canada currently has.
Liberal leader Stephane Dion wants his turn to rule and he has the side benefit of being able to dig a knife into his archrival Harper before he’s forced to step aside (even his own party doesn’t want him as PM). And Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe has a Cheshire Cat smile as he covets veto power on budgets that will no doubt deliver untold billions to Quebec.
In this crisis, the best way out is for Harper to recognize that he is the lightning rod. What is happening on both sides is not rational behaviour. It’s turned into a petty, partisan, personal vendetta against him. He must apologize for his behaviour first. And if he can’t ratchet down the rhetoric and get Parliament working again, then he must also consider resigning to defuse this situation. What a shame, because he is the best one we have to lead us out of the current economic crisis. Canadians just said as much a few weeks ago in an election.
