I don't talk about Canada much, but yesterday a defection of a MP from the Conservative to the Liberal Party was easily as monumental as the defection of Sen. Jeffords in the US several years ago.
Belinda Stronach, a top personality in the Conservative Party, said she was concerned by some of the party's views, and particularly with the willingness to ally with the Parti Quebecois in order to take down the government. She was also concerned about the Conservative's obsession with taking down the government rather than working constructively with the ruling party.
In an upcoming confidence vote that is expected to be decided by only one or two key MP's, this defection makes it much more likely that PM Martin will retain his job for a little while longer. There are still two undecided independent MP's who could force new elections by both voting against the Liberals.
Even if new elections are forced, however, the defection of Stronach really weakens the Conservative's chances to win nationwide. Although Martin is unlikely to survive as PM, it would be real irony if the Conservatives and PQ forced new elections, only to find themselves facing a stronger Liberal majority.
1 comments:
You're right that you don't talk about Canada much. A couple of months ago, there was talk that Belinda Stronach was some sort of secret weapon for the conservative party. It seems though that for her, having clout and power is more important than for what party she has clout and power. Although I do think that her reasons for defecting to the grits are reasonable, I have to wonder about the ulterior motive. Does she want to be the "savior" of the Liberal government, or another backbencher?
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