Victory Carries Risk
Posted by John Malloy on 10/15/2008
Under the guise of a second minority mandate, Canadians may have handed Conservative Leader Stephen Harper a poisoned chalice.
Over the next few years, it will be his dubious honour to steer the country through the first period of deep economic turmoil of the new century.
In sharp contrast with those of his predecessors who were unlucky enough to govern Canada in hard economic times, Harper will have to do so within the straight jacket of the zero-deficit creed.
Over the past decade, the notion of balancing the books has become an ironclad rule of federal politics. But it has never been tested over a period when the economy is hovering in negative territory.
As if that were not a tall enough order, Harper will have to weather the storm with one eye on an estranged Quebec that could quickly become a hotbed of dissatisfaction with his government.
For the biggest paradox of yesterday’s victory is that, even as he has secured more seats than in the previous Parliament, Harper’s governing coalition is no more national in scope today than when the election was called.
It is still without representation from Montreal and Toronto, the country’s two biggest cities. Newfoundland and Labrador is also missing in action.
Premier Danny Williams had vowed to run the federal Conservatives out of his province and he has succeeded.
And then, Quebec – where Harper invested so much political capital since he came to office – refused to join Ontario on the Conservative bandwagon.
www.thestar.com
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John Malloy on 10/15/2008. Filed under
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