Pulling the Plug?
Layton opens door for early election (November 7, 2005)
After rejecting a Liberal offer on health care, NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party has "no basis" to prop up the government in a confidence vote. Layton made his comments during a speech to the Canadian Club in Toronto on Monday afternoon. Layton said the NDP "cannot express confidence" in the Liberals and the time to judge the Liberals should come sooner than in the spring.
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Well I can honestly say that I did not see this coming. I am very surprised that Jack Layton will not continue supporting the government until we can get the second Gomery Report in February. He's in a great position right now, and to give that up now may be premature. He's obviously read the tea leaves and feels as though it's in his best interest to get away from Martin now rather than later. Whether or not he's justified in that belief remains to be seen.
Obviously this is huge news, as we can be preparing for an election within days.
2 comments:
Dude, you didn't see it coming? I think it's a combo of a) being vilified as a "corruption condoner", b) Harper daring him to grow a set, and c) it's a pretty good time to go to the polls. I'm betting good money on an early December election...it's time. Like Riley said, a good house cleaning is in order.
I truly thought that Layton would hold off until the spring. He could have used the Gomery recommendations as something that he's been saying all along.
I do agree that this will result in some housecleaning, or my preferred term, generational change, in Parliament. We're going to be seeing a lot of new faces after this election, one way or another.
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