To Prorogue or not to Prorogue? That is the Question

As expected yesterday Governor General Michaelle Jean granted Prime Minister Harper a stay of execution for about 7 weeks. What bothered me about the whole thing was that the pundits seemed like they genuinely did not know if the GG was going to prorogue the session of parliament. My question is, how could she not have? Never before has a GG not granted that wish of the Prime Minister, so why would she now? Realistically there was no other option that the PM could have chosen. If he had lost a confidence motion or if the GG had not granted a proroguing of the government then he would have resigned which would have left a serious void in the Conservative party and this could actually be a larger issue than the current crisis.

That brings me to my next point. If the coalition were to go through and take power I think this could be a very big deal to the Conservative party. If Harper loses the confidence of the house he could very well lose the support of his party and would therefore have to step down as leader. Personally I think that this could really help the Liberals. If this happens, the Liberals will already have a new leader who will actually be able to lead and the Conservatives will still be trying to put things together. I have to admit, no one else is speculating on this issue, so I might be the only one with this view.

The Video
I just want to touch briefly on the issue with Stephane Dion's taped message to the country on Wednesday night. This was truly another embarrassment for the beleaguered leader. The video was totally out of focus, and not even centred in the frame. It was just really unprofessional and unbecoming of a leader of a national political party. As well the tape was supposed to be delivered to the National Press Gallery by 630 ET, a half hour before Mr. Harper’s speech in order for the networks to run both videos in succession. Instead the Liberal staffers did not deliver the video until 710 ET and both the French and English addresses were on the same tape. This meant that the networks had to divide the tape up themselves and this forced even more delays. Some networks did not run the tape because it was too late and they were returning to their regular programming.

I do not really understand how someone who is trying to become the leader of our country can be so inept. This does not surprise me, because I am familiar with all of Mr. Dion’s blunders from the election campaign, however, this does disappoint me. Some one needs to pay for these mistakes and I think that should start with Mr. Dion’s Chief of Staff. Who is running this train with out an engine? That person needs to be fired or Mr. Dion himself should just step down once and for all.

Bring in Ralph!

Seeing the situation we are currently in, it was a mistake for Mr. Dion to stay on as the leader. I never fully understood why he was staying and maybe it was because he wanted to be Prime Minister for a day, and he might get that wish. I think I would be much more willing to support the coalition if there was another leader. Ralph Goodale should be the interim leader. He is one of the most experienced and respected MPs on the hill. Most Canadians would be proud to have him as the Leader of the Opposition. It is not too late for Mr. Dion to step down but one thing about Dion is that he does not give up, and seems like this time is no different.