Chrétien urges Harper not to kill party subsidy

[CHIMO]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper should reconsider his vow to end the direct per-vote subsidy for political parties, says former prime minister Jean Chrétien, the architect of the current system.

Harper tried to kill the subsidy in 2008, sparking a rebellion by the opposition parties that nearly cost him his minority government. During the just-concluded election campaign, Harper said a majority Conservative government would phase out the system over two to three years in consultation with the other parties.

"I think should reflect on that. The system is working very well," Chrétien told reporters in Quebec City Monday.

Chrétien noted that in his last election, in 2000, the Liberals raised about two-thirds of the money that Hillary Clinton needed to win her U.S. Senate seat.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/05/09/pol-chretien-party-subsidies.html