Harper blackmailing opponents with economic aid offer, says NDP chief
From the Canadian Press
OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jack Layton says Stephen Harper is trying to “blackmail” opposition MPs by tying a $1-billion aid package for beleaguered workers and industries to passage of the next Conservative budget.
The aid, announced by the prime minister last week, appears to be motivated more by political gamesmanship than by a sincere desire to help, Layton told a news conference Sunday.
The message is that “the only way there will be any assistance to the laid-off workers is if we vote confidence in the Harper government and their approach to all things,” said the NDP chief.
January 14th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I thought that this was the way budgets get cobbled together in minority governments. The governing party puts some ‘plums’ in the budget in order to garner the support of the other parties.
Apparently Layton believes that a budget should serve all Canadians as a well thought out whole. Either that, or the plum isn’t big enough.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Yes, this is a way that budgets do get cobbled together. It’s just that Harper is being slightly more mercenary about it than other minority governments..and it’s also the fact that the NDP haven’t had much to sink their teeth into and actually try to provoke an election.
I found the article quite intriguing, though. It comes clearly at a time when there are some concerns over the alleged slowdown of Canada’s economy, so the political timing is right-on the mark - start playing on the fears of Canadians, start to blame the PM for all sorts of things that he has no control over. Sadly, this approach has always worked for politicians.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Possibly. It would be interesting to ‘game’ the possibilities. You are a politician and you are asked to support a budget which is composed of 25% of what you like and 75% of what you hate. But that 25% of what you like is very important to the constituients that got you elected. What do you do?
The math involved in quantifying the interests involved in this are dizzying.
It is also a distinctly different way of doing politics in Canada. Historically, the Opposition Opposes Everything has been the norm. The fact that the NDP is even THINKING of supporting this budget reflects a sea change in Canadian Politics.