Did Layton’s Ambition Overcome his Common Sense?

Lorne Gunter certainly thinks so:

First, he had a chance to do the Liberals in and replace them as the default selection on the left had he gone along with the Tories’ plan to end public funding to parties. Next to the Tories, the NDP have the best chance of replacing public handouts with private donations. Layton could have crippled the Liberals; instead he tried to vault himself into cabinet by riding into power as the Liberals’ shotgun.

Layton was exposed as a self-serving opportunist with no compunction about making a deal with separatists, even weeks before the Tories lit the match on the crisis.

And with the coalition’s demise, Layton is now even further from power than he was before.

Harper’s Options on the Coalition Government

Andrew Steele provides ten different options he feels are available to the Prime Minister.

He missed another option – proceed with the vote as scheduled next week.  After losing the vote visit the Governor General and request the dissolution of parliament and an election call.  If the GG rejects that request and hands the opposition parties the key’s to the government, Harper and his caucus could resign – effectively forcing the GG to dissolve parliament and hold a general election to fill the 70+ (mostly safe Conservative seats in western Canada) vacant seats.

If you think we’re in a crisis now, just imagine if that option was exercised

Update: Bourque has a poll up on this last option: 54% say yes to the mass resignation.

Obama cabinet looks like a US coalition government!

While Canadians are squabbling over government power and political losers are wrestling for cabinet positions, President-Elect Obama seems to be creating a well-received coalition government by appointing people from left, right and center into his cabinet. The juxtaposition of these two historical events in North America is amazing to watch.

Why can Canadians not just get along the way Obama and the Americans are?