Joseph, T: 8 Days of Crisis on the Hill; Political Blip...Or

Whew!! What a week that was as Canadians went from being the peaceable kingdom talking about the need for cooperation and consultation to what many described as a full blown national crisis. The Prime Minister and Conservative Government had turned an economic crisis into a political crisis, then a constitutional crisis. And if that wasnt enough of a weeks work, the Prime Minister managed to also turn it into a crisis of national unity.And some say Canadian politics and politicians are boring!!!!!Accusations of traitor, coup dtat, illegitimate, undemocratic; loss of confidence, loss of trust, socialist, separatist, and deals with the devil, reverberated across the floor of the House of Commons.Each of the crisis that engulfed the Hill over those eight days had political consequences for those involved and for the parliamentary system. Stephen Harper may have survived to fight another day but in doing so he may have committed his most serious strategic error and will pay a heavy price for it over the next months and years.It is my contention that he is as much a strategic stumbler as a master strategist, and, that his long term goal to make the Conservative party Canadas natural governing party and to move Canadian society to the right has been derailed.

Whew!! What a week that was as Canadians went from being the peaceable kingdom talking about the need for cooperation and consultation to what many described as a full blown national crisis. The Prime Minister and Conservative Government had turned an economic crisis into a political crisis, then a constitutional crisis. And if that wasnt enough of a weeks work, the Prime Minister managed to also turn it into a crisis of national unity.And some say Canadian politics and politicians are boring!!!!!Accusations of traitor, coup dtat, illegitimate, undemocratic; loss of confidence, loss of trust, socialist, separatist, and deals with the devil, reverberated across the floor of the House of Commons.Each of the crisis that engulfed the Hill over those eight days had political consequences for those involved and for the parliamentary system. Stephen Harper may have survived to fight another day but in doing so he may have committed his most serious strategic error and will pay a heavy price for it over the next months and years.It is my contention that he is as much a strategic stumbler as a master strategist, and, that his long term goal to make the Conservative party Canadas natural governing party and to move Canadian society to the right has been derailed.