On this, a word from the Prime Minister. Or at least his spokesman, who was quickly dispatched to offer the government’s perspective on that nail, who had hammered it and into whose coffin it was driven.All that's missing is John Cleese and a laugh track. I ask you, am I insane or has the world gone sideways? These people are leading our country. You either have to laugh or kill yourself and I choose mirth. There may be some hysteria mixed in for good fun, but what can you do?
What followed was a bellyache for the ages. Mr. Dion, we were told, had refused to promise that the Liberal opposition would capitulate to the government on every vote from now until October 2009. What’s more, we learned, Mr. Dion had even refused to state exactly when and under what conditions the Liberals might vote against the Conservative side. Parliament, the PM’s man mourned, had grown too partisan to be of any further use and these “uncertain economic times”—a phrase the government side is quite fond of these days—demand assured certainty.
Never mind the Prime Minister’s publicly spoken expectation that an election will only to another of these minority governments. And never mind the business of that fixed election date the Prime Minister was once so keen on honouring.
So an election then?
“The fixed election date law provides for this exact situation. Mr. Dion may not understand what that law is,” the PM’s man said. “If Mr. Dion wanted to avoid an election date, if he wanted to respect the spirit of the fixed election date law, he would give some assurance that the government could survive.”
At this, my tape recorder seemed to pick up an audible laugh from someone in the crowd.
The TV correspondent was soon back in front of the camera. “It’s on really for sure now,” he said.
Update: Oh, here is John Cleese now.
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