Masthead graphic based on a painting by Gudrun Thriemer.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Robin Mathews, "Three Strikes Against Michael Ignatieff," Vive le Canada, January 30, 2009.

[In due course, Canadians will have to outgrow the model of democracy that views elections as a multiple-choice exam that has only four mutually exclusive answers. The coalition of the future will include independents and members of all parties--though not all the members of all parties. This will likely entail some re-education that rejects the one-dimensional model of political description. -jlt]

A truth lodged in the minds of many Canadians is that “You can’t trust Stephen Harper”. What can those Canadians do now when they have to add “You can’t trust Michael Ignatieff, either?”

Ignatieff’s demonstration that he prefers the politics of Stephen Harper to those of Jack Layton is Strike Three. That is so, especially, in the light of the NDP’s obvious willingness to go a long way towards the Liberals in order to make a coalition work.

  ...an apology and retraction from Ignatieff some time in the future will be of little use or comfort.

The basic fact has to be acknowledged. Ignatieff feels closer to the Stephen Harper group than to the New Democrats – and Stephen Harper is a Far Right Reactionary. Ignatieff has, in fact, entered a coalition of the Far Right. As Liberals across Canada awaken to that fact they will suffer some sleepless nights and some powerful testings of their loyalty to the Liberal Party.

To begin: already the Far Right nature of the budget is being uncovered. There is no genuine effort to deal with the immediately unemployed. Nothing has been built in to shore up and grow scientific, medical, and research capacity and (Canadian) independence. Over-kill on (permanent) tax breaks for large corporations is high-profile. More will follow. That’s fine with Michael Ignatieff who has always been on the Right of the Liberal Party.


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2 comments:

Chrystal Ocean said...

And a vast number of progressives are southwest of the NDP too. We've been abandoned in an unrepresented political wilderness.

Steve V said...

"already the Far Right nature of the budget is being uncovered."

Somebody better tell the far right, because man are they PISSED.