Harper government likely to fall after Friday vote

[SidDithers]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/959050--harper-government-likely-to-fall-after-friday-vote?bn=1

The Conservative government is set to topple on a historic non-confidence motion that slams Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government for contempt of Parliament.

The motion to be voted Friday sets the stage for an acrimonious election campaign that formally could begin Saturday, but effectively began Wednesday.

Party leaders staged back-to-back news conferences as they tried to frame whether the coming nationwide debate would be about economic management or ethics and accountability.

NDP leader Jack Layton today announced that his party won't support the Conservative budget. Looks like a spring election in Canada.

Sid

[patrick t. cakes]

1. let some of that trickle down here...nt

[akbacchus_BC]

2. Layton is an asshole. As bad as Harper is, I will never vote for Layton

[CreekDog]

5. you're from Canada, maybe you know this answer to this question

If Harper's government falls, what happens to his hair? :shrug:

[aquart]

6. Those are your choices?

[SidDithers]

7. We also have the Liberal Party, led by MIchael Ignatieff...

and the regional Bloc Quebecois, who will win seats only in primarily French ridings in Quebec.

Layton doesn't stand a chance of actually forming a government. After May 2, our PM will either be Ignatieff or Harper again.

Sid

[akbacchus_BC]

9. You really want Ignathief to be our next PM? Fucker lived in the US

for 25 years and agreed with Bush to invade Iraq. No, am not voting for that asshole!

[Electric Monk]

12. So, you're voting Green then?

Bloc Quebecois?

Marijuana party?


edit: I posted this while you were posting #11 about voting NDP while holding your breath.

[akbacchus_BC]

14. I am voting NDP for a lot of reasons, union primarily!

[laundry_queen]

15. LOL @ your edit - same thing here. nt

[laundry_queen]

13. So if Ignatieff and Layton are both assholes

What does that make Harper? I hope you're going green.

[Dawson Leery]

10. Is there any unfortunate chance of a Con majority?

[SidDithers]

19. It's possible, but it would surprise the hell out of me if it happened...

We tend to flip between the Conservatives and the Liberals every few election cycles. I think it's probably time for another switch, but as bad as Harper is, I don't get the sense that the country is really desperate for change. There just isn't the "throw da bums out!" vibe like there has been at other times. The campaign will be nasty, but the nice thing about or campaigns is that they only last 6 weeks.

I don't think either party has enough support to form a majority.

Sid

[laundry_queen]

22. If you'd have asked

about a month ago, I'd have said yes. There are some Con scandals popping up though. I saw a recent poll on CBC that showed the percentages of support per party are exactly the same as they were before the last election. The pundits didn't seem think much would change but a month is a long time in the world of politics.

[aquart]

17. But do you LIKE Ignatieff?

[SidDithers]

27. I like him better than Harper...

The Liberal candidate in my riding is a good guy, so he'll get my vote.

Sid

[Greybnk48]

3. I unreced by accident! Consider me a rec!

Sorry, brain fart. :-(

[SidDithers]

4. No worries...

:hi:

Sid

[OswegoAtheist]

16. Rec'd for you.

Even my staunchly-Conservative Grandparents are probably going to vote Liberal, or sit out altogether. They dislike Harper more than they're loyal to the party. I, of course, will be voting NDP.

Oswego "Canadian Expatriate" Atheist

[Electric Monk]

8. I will go on record as predicting it goes from a Conservative minority govt to

another minority govt. Flip a coin between C or L.

(Yeah, I'm really going out on a limb here ;-) )

[akbacchus_BC]

11. I am voting NDP, I really do not like Layton, but he is the best we

have right now!

[laundry_queen]

18. Yes, he is.

I do worry though how he'll deal with his health problems during a campaign.

[aquart]

21. He's sick?

Do you have short British campaigns or insanely long American ones?

[laundry_queen]

25. Thankfully short.

6 weeks or so.

Yeah, Layton has prostate cancer and apparently the treatment weakened his bones and he fractured his hip and underwent surgery to repair the fracture just last week, I think (lol, I have no sense of time lately). He says he's up to it though.

[aquart]

31. Thanks.

I know more about British politics than I do Canadian. (And that's little enough.)

[SidDithers]

23. Bold, bold prediction...

:hi:

I'll predict a Liberal minority, only because we tend to flip every few election cycles.

Sid

[Dawson Leery]

28. Why is the Liberal leader unpopular?

[SidDithers]

29. He's not especially charismatic...

more Al Gore than Bill Clinton :)

He also lived outside of Canada for a long time, as a professor at Universities in Europe and the US. Some Canadians will see that as a negative.

Sid

[Dawson Leery]

30. Any way he can overcome this?

[RandySF]

20. Will Layton chicken out again?

[aquart]

24. Define "chicken."

Does it mean giving the opposition everything its greedy, shriveled heart desires? Or something else?

[RandySF]

26. It seems a cople of years ago, he was set to join the Liberals

in forming a new majority. But then he backed away at the last minute.

[malaise]

32. About time

:hi:

sp

[marmar]

33. Good. I can't stand that man.

nt

[Bragi]

34. I am voting strategically to defeat Harper

I'm in an NDP riding, so I will vote NDP to make sure the Cons don't win here.

If I was in a riding where the Liberal candidate stood the best chance of defeating the Conservative, I'd vote Liberal without any hesitation.

My reasoning -- I'm way left of all the parties, but I understand that getting rid of Harper is job number one here.

[SidDithers]

35. I usually vote NDP provincially and Liberal federally...

But if my provincial riding started trending Conservative, I'd do the same as you and vote Liberal.

Sid