Bad start for Tories (Canada)

[TrogL]

http://edmsun.canoe.ca/Comment/Commentary/2006/02/07/1428950.html

The ironies were astonishing and infuriating. Stephen Harper was sworn in as Canada’s 22nd prime minister yesterday, and pledged that his administration’s top priority was going to be cleaning up the government.

...

Considering it was only two weeks ago that Emerson won re-election as a Liberal, he should resign his seat immediately and contest a byelection to ensure that his constituents are happy with this game of musical chairs. And that would be entirely in keeping with Harper’s commitment to more accountable government.

...

Then there was Harper’s decision to put Michael Fortier, one of the Conservative party’s key organizers in Quebec, into the Senate in order to name him the minister of public works. If Paul Martin had done that, the howls of outrage from Conservative MPs about Martin making the democratic deficit even worse would have been deafening.

I was expecting a lame-duck Parliament under Harper but this goes way beyond my wildest dreams.

[AX10]

1. could you please explain further?

:shrug: Thank you.

[TrogL]

4. Canadian Politics 101

Canada has a multiplicity of political parties. The big four are:

• Liberals: left of centre culturally, bit to the right economically
  
• Conservatives/Alliance/Reform/whatever-they're-called-this-week: Freepers, fascists
  
• NDP: left, left
  
• Bloc Quebecois: single issue, Quebec separatism, otherwise leftish
  

In a recent election the Liberals fell from power due to a corruption scandal that actually occured under a previous administration :shrug:. The Conservatives gained power and immediately turned around and did exactly the same thing the Liberals just got in trouble for.

[TrogL]

2. Sheila Copps is pissed off too

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Copps_Sheila/2006/02/07/1429427.html

Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have received a gift horse in the person of David Emerson that he will live to regret.

Part of the balancing act of a minority government is keeping every caucus member on side. With a cabinet post for Emerson, that leaves other long-time Conservative loyalists seething in the back benches.

But that's not the only problem. By elevating someone who has so little loyalty to Conservative values, Harper risks being tarred with the same opportunistic brush that he plied on the Liberals when they accepted Belinda Stronach.

[MrPrax]

3. Backfired...

The biggest complaints against Harper seems to be his own Party--amazingly some people really believed his schtick about 'cleaning up' government and making it more accountable.

Equally dangerous for Harper is that he demanded, obviously total support after his 2004 election defeat, when there was some question as to whether he would stay on as leader.

I bet the 'party' people that gave him that support are now MORE than happy to sharpen the knives...even Ezra Levant! is annoyed. LOL

Suckers....

[Lisa]

5. and another bit of info for our US friends -- Canadian cabinet ministers

... are usually elected Members of Parliament. It's unusual (though not unheard-of) for a Prime Minister to pick someone from outside the House (even from the Senate). For a minority government leader who promised accountability, it does seem kind of weird.

In the US, the President's cabinet are appointees -- who are vetted to some extent by Congress. But in our case, it's like picking the Secretary of HUD, the Secretary of Defense, heads of the EPA and FEMA, etc., from the majority party in the House of Representatives.

The cabinet members, and the Prime Minister too, also function as MPs (congressional reps) for their ridings (districts). So Stephen Harper has to attend to that, along with being the head of government. (I suppose that if you guys had gone with a parliamentary system, Prime Minister Bush would have a constituency office in Texas, and be referred to as the Honourable Member from Waco-Crawford?)

Is Emerson the "Norm Mineta" of the Harper government? (Bush also decided to keep Clinton's Secretary of Transportation when he took office.)