In tonight's televised address by Stephen Harper, he spent a fair amount of time pressing the point that the coalition is being held in place by the only party who's goal is to "break up Canada." I'm sure that this deal with the Bloc has a lot of Canadians uneasy, and if Stephen Harper's address is any indication, they are only going to get more uneasy as the Conservative media machine really kicks it into high gear.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Bloc being the backbone of the coalition. It's certainly necessary... The NDP and Liberals combined do not have enough votes to do it without them. I absolutely believe that they are going to bring some fair and interesting ideas to the table. The Bloc seems ahead of the game with regards to arts, culture, and social rights. They appear willing to co-operate, at least for the next 18 months.
But it's the 18 month thing that gets me. The reason the Bloc did not sign on for the full two years is because the parties could not agree on the status of Quebec as a "nation"-- nope, that nation debate isn't going anywhere. I think the Bloc sees an opportunity here. And, now, who wants to bet that in 18 months (assuming this coalition actually happens) we are going to have a major debate in Parliament--and perhaps an election--about the status of Quebec in Canada?
This coalition excites me very much, but I have the feeling that if it goes through we're in it for the long haul, and if we think that the political games we are witnessing right now are as intense as it's going to get, we're mistaken. Things are just heating up!
Related: Rex Murphy lays it out.
Also...how awesome is this photo! He's absolutely ruthless!
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