Canada's PM offers olive branch to new opposition leader

Canada's PM offers olive branch to new opposition leader

 

OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada's prime minister on Tuesday offered to try to hammer out an economic strategy with the next opposition leader and diffuse a clash that could lead to snap elections in January.

The ruling Conservatives and main opposition Liberals "should be working together to fix the economy, and we're more than willing to do that," Prime Minister Harper said in an interview with public broadcaster CBC.

"And I hope the next Liberal leader, the first thing he'll do is be willing to sit down with me to have that discussion."

Earlier, a race to succeed beleaguered Liberal head Stephane Dion came to an abrupt halt with all but one candidate dropping out.

Former Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff is now expected to be named interim Liberal leader until a party convention in May, when he is widely expected to be confirmed by delegates.

Dion tendered his resignation on Monday after failing in an attempt to dethrone Harper and install a Liberal-led coalition. The government and the opposition were at odds over how best to seed an economic recovery as the nation enters a recession.

The separatist Bloc Quebecois and socialist New Democrats said Dion's departure would not derail their support for the coalition.

But Ignatieff is said to have only grudgingly backed its formation and may now move in a different direction.

"I'm optimistic that the next leader of the opposition may want to look at different kinds of arrangements in the best interests of the country," Harper told CBC.

"It's in the interests of the government to find a consensus certainly among the federalist parties and certainly among the two major parties to find things we can agree on in the short term, to make sure we do whatever we can to help the economy..."

The prime minister also hinted at "big stuff" in his finance minister's January 27 budget to bolster the Canadian economy, as well as "some action sectorally" in the interim to shore up ailing industries such as the auto sector.