It's Over...For Now

Crisis over. This is when Bartlett would say, "what's next?"

With the GG allowing Prime Minister Harper prorogue the House we're all safe from political disaster until late January. Now economic disaster is a different story.

So what are we to make of all of this?

Well, I think a few things should be clear. Among them:

• Poor Stephane Dion, if he ever was, is not up to this job. Yesterday's disaster with the video seals that deal.
• The Liberals need to sort themselves very quickly. They did not come out of this looking good and I think that Coyne is right, they will bail on this and fast.
• Which presents a pretty serious problem for the NDP, who I'm sure are ready to fight for The Coalition. It would be great for Jack Layton to sit in a Minister's office for a few months and they must be furiously pushing Dion to hold his nerve.
• Gilles Duceppe manages to yet again seem like the most sensible federal leader, you know, aside from the separatism thing.

Maybe most importantly I think we have learned more about Stephen Harper than anyone else in this crisis and the only thing I can conclude than he's an asshole. He had a moment there, after the election, before the Economic and Fiscal Statement, to show the country that he was ready to lead in a difficult time. He could have been conciliatory, but strong. He could have focused on the economy. But he couldn't. Instead, he chose to stick in the eye of his opponents. He decided to go after public financing, pay equity and the right to strike. The Globe's Rick Salutin echoes a conversation that I had with my boss the other day in his latest column. Basically, we three agree that Harper can't help himself. When someone (purportedly Guy Giorno) presented Harper with the chance to wreak a little havoc with his enemies, he couldn't help, but say yes. My boss, who has met more politicians in his life than I ever will, thinks that it's in Harper's nature to destroy those who oppose him. I think that maybe he's just a jerk, although the two aren't mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, it's difficult to ignore that part of his personality.

My boss and I concluded our conversation by developing the following thesis:

• everyone has flaws
• politics dramatically enhances those flaws by providing power and opportunity
• the success of a politician is measured by his or her level of self-discipline, and his or her ability to master their flaws (Politicians and the flaws that undid them: Martin=indecisiveness, Chretien=assholism, Mulroney=scruples, Trudeau=arrogance, Clark=naivete, Me=not born before Clark)
  
• every politician is ultimately undone by their flaws

We'll see if the Prime Minister has been ultimately undone thanks to this crisis he manufactured, but regardless at some point soon he will be.

He can't help himself.