Stephen Harper is fucked. Rumors are swirling around Parliament Hill and throughput the country that several Conservative Party MP's are so fed up with Harper that they are considering joining a new coalition while remaining with their party, according to the Liberal blog Western Grit.
From highly placed Liberal sources:
We're hearing confirmed reports of high level discussions with Conservative MPs regarding joining the Dion/Layton/Duceppe "Grand Coalition. Sources indicate that the MPs are "progressives", and are extremely upset with Harper.
The Conservative "floor crossers" will NOT sit in the Liberal Caucus. They will be part of the "Grand Coalition" as "Independent Conservatives".
As of posting, it has not been confirmed by our highly placed sources just when this "walk" will take place, but it is either to be Monday, or with further Harper shenanigans, after the fall of the government. Sources say these MPs could be part of the coalition cabinet. This certainly explains why cabinet members have not been named yet.
More local news hints that MP Nina Grewal is having "serious discussions" with senior BC Liberals. It appears however that the Liberals involved are not too keen on having anything to do with the Grewals (now, or in the future). Sources close to Calgary MP Lee Richardson say, "he's outta here" (referring to Harper). They also indicate that Jim Prentice is prepared to step in.
The battle between the neo-Conserva-fascist Reform Party "Guard" group and progressives on the Conservative side is starting to come to a head. Former PCs are ready to walk according to sources.
How much like George Bush's Republican Party does this sound? When I lived in Michigan, I spent much of my early political years watching Brian Mulroney on the CBC. I didn't like him, but he at least had his moments, like taking the U.S. and the UK to task for not imposing tougher sanctions against the Apartheid government of South Africa. However, Harper, like Bush, has taken a once grand and noble party and drove it into the ground. It's not entirely his fault. It was never going to be the old Conservative Party after Reform took over Western Canada in 1993 and ceded power only after gaining control of the Tories.
Harper "won" the last election, but the Tories failed to make inroads into Quebec. And this is significant to those of us who remember when the Conservative Party of Quebec was know as the "Big Blue Machine". The hold a plurality only because they hold the West while Liberals and NDP fight over the same turf in Ontario and BC. IF NDP and the Grits can resolve log-term differences over policy, we could look at a grand progressive coalition that could rule for some time to come.