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Did Harper get two of three opposition parties to blink?

by albertacowpoke | September 15, 2009 at 05:08 pm

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Just when Michael Iganatieff was counting on a fall election, and an eventual entry in Canada's history books as Prime Minister, the other two opposition parties threw the perpetual monkey wrench into the spokes.

Yesterday New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton indicated that he may support Mr. Harper's Conservative Government on Fridays Ways and Means motion. The motion would contain the Home Improvement Credit and EI Insurance Reform.

Today Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the BLOC Quebecois said that he would support the Ways and Means motion because it was good for Quebec.

Personally, I think the Ignatieff initiative to bring down the government has opened a high stakes game of chicken among the opposition parties. In one of my earlier articles, I wondered who would blink first, since Canadians overwhelmingly do not want another 300 Million Dollar spectacle that will change nothing.

Interestingly enough, latest polls indicate if there was an election tomorrow, the Conservatives would get 39%,the Liberals 30%, the NDP 12% and the BLOC and Green Party 10%.

I think the oppostion parties have reasons to blink.

The Bloc Quebecois will support the Conservative government's budget motion on Friday, preventing a possible election call for the time being.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe announced his party will support the ways and means motion, because there's nothing bad in it.

The move means the Conservatives can avoid another confidence vote until at least the first week of October, when the Liberals plan to introduce one.