In the strongest indication yet that the Prime Minister wants to accomplish more with his first mandate than simply preparing the ground for a second-term majority, Conservatives are limiting their to-do list to the environment, competitiveness and prickly financial arrangements with the provinces. Significant progress on any or all would be a notable achievement for a numerically weak administration and would mark a shift from campaigning to governing.
I would argue that Harper's "new" priorities are completely transparent and entirely political. In fact, Harper's epiphany on the environment is a simple recognition of his soft underbelly as we move towards the next election. The one issue where Conservatives score poorly is on the environment, particularly in Quebec. Obviously, the Conservatives have concluded they need to act on this file or risk an easy target for the opposition. If the Tories really viewed the environment as an urgent priority, then how do we explain the virtual silence during the election campaign, not to mention the pathetic detail in their bluebook? All those years in opposition and yet the Tories came to government with no agenda, besides trashing everything. Canadians sit and wait, while Ambrose and company get up to speed.
The evidence suggests that the environment was no priority for this government, apart from their motivation to protect the big polluters. Therefore, there is no "shift from campaigning to governing", in fact this is simple "finger in the wind" politics- which is why I suspect any legislation will be much bluster and little substance. Harper will adopt a couple of the NDP's suggestions to look the consensus builder and hope to negate the environment as a Tory weakness. This priority is entirely consistent with Harper's entire approach- do whatever it takes to attain more power. It is a simple motivation and the pattern is everywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment