As some of you may have noticed a political bombshell was dropped today in Canada. Conservative MP Belinda Stronach has crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party as the new Human Resources Development Minister.
There are two reasons this is huge in Canadian politics. First, the liberal party is on the verge of being defeated by the Tories and Bloc Qubec on Thursday but the margin is extremely close. The defection of Belinda may well save Martin government. Second, Belinda Stronach is a high profile rookie politician who is no stranger to headlines. Having her defect before a crucial non-confidence vote is like having McCain defect to the democratic party before presidential election.
Ms. Stronach, 39, moved into politics from an already high-profile position as the head of one of the country's biggest and best known companies.
Until her move into the federal arena, she was president and chief executive officer of her father's auto parts company Magna International Inc. She was named CEO in 2001 and added president to the title the following year.
She left the post on Jan. 20, 2004, to pursue the leadership of the Conservatives. She ultimately lost the race to Stephen Harper, but her efforts dramatically raised her profile among both members of the party and a broader audience.
Her long-time friendship with former U.S. president Bill Clinton has been the subject of international speculation, occasionally earning her space in the supermarket tabloids along Hollywood celebrities.
She's been spotted all over town with former president Bill Clinton: a blonde bombshell, who resembles Hillary. Wednesday night, the mystery blonde was by Clinton's side once again at a New York BLT restaurant with Jack Nicholson and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
New York Daily News columnist Ben Widdicombe told us the woman, Belinda Stronach, is a billionaire member of Canada's Conservative Party, and she's very possibly a future candidate for prime minister of Canada.
"She's blonde, she's ambitious and she's in politics, but she's not Bill Clinton's wife," Widdicombe said. "It's Belinda Stronach, his friend from Canada who's been visiting Bill in New York this week."
Could Clinton advise Belinda to defect? ... Belinda Stronach is also dating the Conservative deputy leader - Peter MacKay.
They started off as a political golden couple, but wound up a wincing example of why you shouldn't date someone from work.
Sources confirmed the pair are taking a "break" from the photogenic relationship first made public in January.
"Suffice it to say, I'm very happy and quite smitten," Mr. MacKay beamed at the time.
Tory insiders now say he was one of the last to know of Ms. Stronach's planned defection.
Mr. MacKay got the news early Tuesday and had the unhappy task of notifying Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.
"If he was smitten a few weeks ago, he's probably smoked today," said a party source
Mr. Harper didn't get a call from Ms. Stronach herself until moments before she appeared at Prime Minister Paul Martin's side to make the jaw-dropping announcement.
Ms. Belinda declined to comment on their relatioship.
Ms. Stronach would not discuss Mr. MacKay in detail, saying their relationship is a personal matter.
One of the few people not talking about the humiliating state of affairs was Mr. MacKay himself.
"No comment," said his spokesman Michael Bailey as Mr. MacKay holed up in his Centre Block office watching developments on CBC Newsworld.
Mr. Bailey would not confirm when his boss would be making another public appearance. But he hinted that Mr. MacKay may stay cloistered until the crucial budget vote Thursday that could bring down the minority Liberals.
But the most bizarre part is for Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party leader to gossip that the deputy leader of his party is nursing a bruised heart...
The Tory leader weighed in on Ms. Stronach's actions at a hastily called news conference.
"If she has such a high opinion of Peter MacKay, I would venture today after my discussion with him, she has an awfully tough way of conveying that to him.
"I think Peter's taking this pretty hard, as you can imagine."
However Stephen Harper should be more concerned about the political fallout instead of gossiping.
On Tuesday morning, a strained-looking Mr. Harper admitted the news had come as a shock to his party. Ms. Stronach had been an asset to the Tories because she held a high-profile Ontario seat -- a province in which the Tories need to make gains in an upcoming election -- and because she was well-known as a one-time leadership candidate and former head of Magna International, an auto parts company.
"I know that a number of our caucus members are feeling quite devastated, quite betrayed by this," he said. He said Ms. Stronach had called him to let him know of her decision just before her Tuesday morning press conference.
He also admitted it will affect Thursday's vote.
"Obviously Belinda's actions today make the defeat of the government on Thursday much less likely. But it doesn't in any way change the principal position that our caucus has taken on this issue. The governing party is corrupt," he said.
The chain reaction also seems likely, and Martin government may well avert the previously perceived inevitable defeat.
Newfoundland's two Conservative MPs appear to be bending to increasing pressure from within the province to break ranks with their party and vote in favour of the federal budget.
Norm Doyle and Loyola Hearn are both declining to say what they will do when the budget is subjected to a vote Thursday, the outcome of which could force an election.
Personally, I just loathe Belinda Stronach. She is such a phony and a typical opportunitist. Her ascendary to power was all made possible by the media. I don't like liberal government as well. They are in desperate mode and have cut deals and spent like drunk driver over the past few days in order to survive.I just hate their alliance with NDP.
But soometimes, you just have no choice. I originally thought the conservative party might be a viable alternative until I watched this angry Stephen Harper for the first time on TV. NDP for me is a non-starter for their big-government, high-tax, insane spending habit.
I am socially liberal but fiscally super conservative. Hopefully, next election Liberal can get rid of corruption and garner the majority votes and restore some fiscal sanity.