Canadian Prime Minister Martin has survived a no-confidence vote. A 152-152 vote on the budget was broken by the Liberal Speaker of the Parliament. The vote occurred thanks to a defection of a conservative leader and the last minute decision by an independent.
Martin, like Tony Blair, benefits from facing an opposition even more unpopular than he is. Still, he can't expect to govern effectively with a one vote margin. The Conservatives may never find the coalition to break Martin's hold on government, and if new elections were called they certainly could not win based on the most recent polls. That said, sections within the Liberal Party must be thinking up a strategy to eventually force new elections and take power from Martin. Whether its his fault or just bad circumstances, he's been an ineffective leader of their party and their country. If I was Martin, I'd be less worried about the opposition and more worried about factions within my own party turning on me when the polls turned their way.
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