More Coalition Talk: Could This Simply Be a Way to Get Jack Layton to Sign Iggy’s Walking Papers?

I’m all read out of blogs and columns over coalition governments. However, I picked up this interesting take by Chantal Hebert, where she not only hints at a Bob Rae/Iggy division.  We hear Iggy and his friends categorically telling Canadians a coalition with anyone is out of the question. We hear of rumours of either Jean Chretien and/or Bob Rae having discussions with Jack Layton over some kind of coalition, agreement, alliance, take your pick.  So which is it? Hebert takes a stab at this by implying both are happening: Bob Rae and his buddies are talking coalition with Jack and the NDP while Iggy and his buddies are categorically ruling out coalitions. 

There is as much private and public speculation about an eventual rapprochement between the Liberals and the NDP as ever, but increasingly it revolves around schemes that would see Ignatieff out of the picture.

And while many of the Liberals who look favourably on new arrangements between their party and the NDP are resigned to having Ignatieff first run a campaign on his own terms, their ranks have been shrinking.

If this is true, could all this be more of an elaborate stunt to throw Iggy out before the next election and saving face at the same time?  An original, yet very complicated idea: get Jack Layton to fire Iggy (in a manner of speaking).

Was that challenge Layton launched to Iggy to vote down c-9 a part of that game? A hint of a step to remove Iggy?  After all, Jack was surely smart enough to know that Iggy wouldn’ t fall for that. It would make more sense in a more odd sort of way than simply saying Steve would cave as he would least want an election with the upcoming G20/G8 summits, which should be obvious that that’s hogwash.  Granted, pre G8/G20 is less than an ideal time for Steve to go to an election, he is in permanent election campaign mode 24/7.  He would do it if necessary.

A strange way of doing things that won’t end well by any stretch of the imagination. The first thing that comes to mind is…then what? So Iggy’s gone. Whether the intent is to really go forward with a coalition with each other or simply a deal for Jack to help the Liberals to get rid of Iggy before the next election, the problem still  far from solved.

Liberals internal divisions between the Left of center MPs and the Blue grits which seemed to compliment each other well in the past now seem irreconcialable.  Imagine adding a smaller party whose favourite sport as of late is to snipe at the lot of them in the media?

Then there’s the upcoming vote on Bill c-391. Jack as to this day hasn’t offered any alternatives to keep the registry as Iggy has, nor does it look like he will whip his MPs into voting against the bill. Talk about your wedge issues!   If Jack continues on that path regarding gun control; how will he and the Liberals ever be able to form any agreement? Jack will have proven that he wouldn’t be able to play well with Liberals. It also further proves my predictions that he will sooner get into bed with Steve.

Sidenote: I have one observation to make though. With all that coalition talk and speculation regarding the NDP and the Liberals; with or without Iggy;  how can anyone who actually pays attention to radio and tv shows with political panels not notice how much  the NDP snipes at the Liberals just as much, if not more than at the Harpercons?   With that observation, how do so many columnists, bloggers and pundits overlook this endless sniping at the Liberals on the part of the NDP?

 Another observation would be that the NDP has shifted more toward the center.  They were never “soshalists” as Steve portrayed them to be to the captivated Timmy’s crowd; they are far less so now. After all, if the NDP managed to score rural and western seats, it wasn’t by being hard core left wing social democrats. They proved this when twelve voted with the Harpercons last time to scrap the registry.