The Prime Minister has called by-elections in London and Montreal for the eve of the Liberal Party’s leadership convention. In years past, governments, in a show of mutual respect for all political parties (and acceptance that “someday we may be where they are”) and the golden rule, would have delayed calling a by-election while its opponents were in the midst of such an exercise. For that matter, Parliament would recess for the week of party conventions - I’m waiting to see what happens to the Parliamentary calendar the last week of November.
In calling setting the date of the by-elections, is Stephen Harper just showing he is not part of Parliamentary tradition, an independent thinker, or does it go further. His defence, that the voters of London-North Centre and Montreal-Repentigny deserve to represented in the House of Commons is a bit precious, given that new MPs will hardly take their seats before the long year-end recess. And he has no problems with one of the largest spending portably portfolios in Cabinet being held by a Senator who has no plans to run for a seat in the Commons before the next general election (if then).
He could be up to his usual Machiavellian schemes. Knowing the Liberals will be preoccupied with the leadership race, he may expect his Conservatives to stand a better chance of winning the London seat (the Montreal seat is probably safely in the hands of the Bloc Quebecois). The Connectives’ chance of winning would certainly diminish in an early new-year by-election in which the Liberals would be showcasing a new leader.
He may be trying to embarrass Liberal leadership candidates Bob Rae and Gerard Kennedy as afraid to go after an open seat and lacking in confidence that they might be poised to lead the Liberal party without a seat in the Commons.
He may just be showing his contrariness. Stephen Harper doesn’t play by “old boys’ network” rules and remains an outsider in clubby Ottawa.
The spin the Liberals should be putting on this is that Harper is hedging the odds that Rae or Kennedy might win and denying them an early chance to get to the Commons and Question Period. Keeping the new leader out in the halls of Parliament until the next election probably can’t hurt the Conservatives. He can’t avoid Ignatieff or Dion but he can play with Rae and Kennedy. Would he call a by-election so quickly of a sitting Liberal retired to make room for a new leader? And would he respect the tradition of not contesting such a by-election? I think not.
My guess is it’s a bit of all of the above. Harper wants to appear outside the camaraderie of Parliament, he sees a possible opportunity in London and he wants to eliminate any chance that Rae or Kennedy could get to the Commons soon. The only downside is that he is giving up a chance to embarrass Rae or Kennedy should they win the leadership but fail to contest or win the London seat. With the Conservatives’ declining numbers in the polls, that’s a chance he is prepared to forego.
In calling setting the date of the by-elections, is Stephen Harper just showing he is not part of Parliamentary tradition, an independent thinker, or does it go further. His defence, that the voters of London-North Centre and Montreal-Repentigny deserve to represented in the House of Commons is a bit precious, given that new MPs will hardly take their seats before the long year-end recess. And he has no problems with one of the largest spending portably portfolios in Cabinet being held by a Senator who has no plans to run for a seat in the Commons before the next general election (if then).
He could be up to his usual Machiavellian schemes. Knowing the Liberals will be preoccupied with the leadership race, he may expect his Conservatives to stand a better chance of winning the London seat (the Montreal seat is probably safely in the hands of the Bloc Quebecois). The Connectives’ chance of winning would certainly diminish in an early new-year by-election in which the Liberals would be showcasing a new leader.
He may be trying to embarrass Liberal leadership candidates Bob Rae and Gerard Kennedy as afraid to go after an open seat and lacking in confidence that they might be poised to lead the Liberal party without a seat in the Commons.
He may just be showing his contrariness. Stephen Harper doesn’t play by “old boys’ network” rules and remains an outsider in clubby Ottawa.
The spin the Liberals should be putting on this is that Harper is hedging the odds that Rae or Kennedy might win and denying them an early chance to get to the Commons and Question Period. Keeping the new leader out in the halls of Parliament until the next election probably can’t hurt the Conservatives. He can’t avoid Ignatieff or Dion but he can play with Rae and Kennedy. Would he call a by-election so quickly of a sitting Liberal retired to make room for a new leader? And would he respect the tradition of not contesting such a by-election? I think not.
My guess is it’s a bit of all of the above. Harper wants to appear outside the camaraderie of Parliament, he sees a possible opportunity in London and he wants to eliminate any chance that Rae or Kennedy could get to the Commons soon. The only downside is that he is giving up a chance to embarrass Rae or Kennedy should they win the leadership but fail to contest or win the London seat. With the Conservatives’ declining numbers in the polls, that’s a chance he is prepared to forego.
