Q: I asked you about what you learned through the month of the coalition and all that excitement. Aside from what the opposition’s up to and what the opposition wants, what about the way you guys handled things? Are you happy with everything you did?
A: Well, you know, my own judgment is that what we really saw there was a continuation of a pattern we saw prior to the election—part of what led me to call the election—and during the election was the increasing opposition-for-the-sake-of-opposition approach of the other parties, and their increasing willingness to work together to do that. I think that reached a crescendo, and now I think they’ll obviously have to make some decisions: you know, are they serious in providing the government with their input on the economy? If they are, obviously we will take those things into account. If not, they’ll make their own judgments about how to go. I mean, our focus will be on what we think is best for the economy.
Q: But you don’t think you made a mistake or you mishandled your relations with the opposition?
A: Well, I think it’s always the right of the government to pursue what it believes is in the public interest. There were some measures—particularly the political subsidy measure—the opposition parties disagree with, but the government listened, and the government has decided to go [with] a freeze instead of an elimination. But make no mistake, the government believes that the elimination of these subsidies has to be done eventually, that that’s in the public interest.
Q: So it’s good policy but the timing is a political mistake?
A: Well, I guess that’s a conclusion you have to reach because we withdrew it. That said, it’s still the right policy, widely supported by Canadians.
Q: Are you going to come back to it then?
A: It will be part of our platform in the next election campaign. In the meantime we’ll put a freeze on these subsidies. I mean, I think it’s ridiculous that, at a time of economic recession, political parties are getting subsidies from the Canadian taxpayer that bear no relation to their own attempts to even raise money—that’s ridiculous. And we’re obviously disappointed there’s no willingness in the opposition to deal with that problem and to indicate, you know, that we’re prepared to lead by example from the top. We’re disappointed with that—the Conservative party would have taken the largest reduction of any party as a consequence of that policy—but that’s their decision. But I could go back: they’ve said that that’s not the reason they’ve done what they’ve done, and in fairness they did the coalition well after we indicated we weren’t pursuing that particular policy. So I do think, as I said before, that some of the opposition leaders are on the record saying this is in fact a plan that they had all along. We’ll see now, having seen public reaction, whether they choose, in effect, to recognize the results of the election, to accept that the government is the government, and to give the government their ideas about how to run the economy, or whether in fact they try to bring the government down. Those are the two choices before them.
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I see the usual Leftist Mental Disorder crowd is out on a day pass from the loony bin again.
What Keynesian bilge. As soon as he grabs power, the man who claimed that he quit the Libs because of the NEP, introduces a National Auto Plan. The Conservative Party of Canada’s answer to Bob Rae.
Still though – he may know jack about economics and care less, but your PM is one smart and lucky guy. He and his pals are going to do extremely well in the next few years. $30B in pork to dole out, and an “opposition” who do nothing but scream for more of the same. It’s the HRDC boondoggle, times 30.
So during the next decade or so of economic depression, keep remembering what a clever guy you elected when you’re stooging around trying to score a federally funded, meaningless, make-work job. Don’t forget that joining the local party association, volunteering on campaigns, and banding together with your friends to hire lobbyists with the right party credentials will be the ticket to success. Be smart like the PM. Be an opportunist.
What is the similarity between the ” national auto plan and the NEP ?
Taxpayer $$$$, and the ludicrous premise that politicians handling the money are wise, altruistic, and would never spend the money buying political favors and lining their own pockets (cough, Airbus, HRDC, AdScam…)
Other than that, no similarity at all.
So————–I think you`re saying that the NEP was a gov`t bailout of the oil companies——————ah, I don`t know what the Heck you`re saying.
Funny, I thought it was pragmatist, not opportunist, to be this smart and lucky. Geez, if only we all had the same hymn sheet…
The hive is certainly buzzing today.
Mention of Harper’s name in a post, gets the hornets all worked up.
My favourite question of the interview: “Q: Do you think it’s fair to say that the big-spending liberals of Canada and North America are taking advantage of the political situation to drive through more of their ideological agenda?”
Ah, if only all reporters asked you questions like that eh Steve?
What horseshit.
Harper is a clone of the old style Progressive Conservative Party leader, which figures as that is what the party has become. He has lied his way to power since he was in the Reform Party. He believes in nothing except what will win him seats in Ontario and Quebec, the same as the Liberals. The West wants out!
[...] Speech Ping Test Kenneth Whyte got his 10 seconds with the Prime Minister on his pet project, Section 13. He [...]
[...] [Continue reading] [...]
Alex wrote:
“Look at Canada’s tarnished reputation recently with other countries on pollution. We look like assholes. Assholes run by a bunch of ornery generation jones babies trying to compensate for their insecurity.”
In your case….I would agree with your assessment. At least you understand your own limitations.
Our dictator prime minister should be ashamed to be showing his face in public, let alone granting interviews.
Since December 4, as far as I am concerned, Herr Harper’s government has been illegitimate, and Canada has no prime minister.
Mr. Ignatieff should be demanding that the Governor General recall Parliament, so that this toxic government can be brought down and replaced by the Coalition.
For those who haven’t lived through the Pearson, Trudeau, Mulroney and Chretian years, the Prime Minister’s attempts to mislead the Canadian public can be pretty convincing. I wonder if he really believe the things he says. We have gone from guaranteed surplus, to balanced budget, to minor defecit to who knows what. Lets not forget income trusts, trhe cancelling of those bad 40 year mortgages which were introduced by – guess who – the conservatives in their 2006 budget. I won’t go into transparency in government, cancellation of social programs and deliberate disruption of the work of parliament etc. etc.
Flaherty, who is now talking about stimulating car loans (who wants to buy a car from a company about to go down the tubes) instead of needed infrasturcture, ruined the Ontario economy and is about to do the same for the whole country. These guys are winging it and are not up to the job. The one thing that is true of this century is that the Liberals knew how to run the country and did a damned good job at it. Wait ’til the smoke clears, although more years will have been lost because of Conservative ineptitude.
This is not an economist speaking but a politician with an economics degree, something very different. Canadians have never has so many reasons to dump a politician who has shown such limited vision, partisanship and failure to lead the country to be the best that it can be. Even if Harper is willing to change the rules when it suits him, (aka “proroguing parliament when it is clear that you are going down” ), the reason why there is a coalitian is that our the majority of our elected parliamentarians are really fed up, as am I.
This interview is the worst of Ottawa bafflegab, designed to confuse those who don’t know the system or don’t have the inclination to follow the history of administration in this country – the lowest common denominator who can be convinced by simple messages.
Sorry Sue…..I’ll take the Politician with an Economics Degree……over Politicians who steal from the taxpayer any day.
How anyone can support the Liberal Party, knowing that they have been stealing from taxpayers hand over fist is beyond comprehension. The only folks who should be supporting the LIberals are those who received the stolen loot…..and those who don’t pay taxes.
Which are you?
Did you hear about the delays in military equipment that’s costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars?
“Instead of imposing the $36-million penalty for late delivery called for in the contract, the government has agreed to pay Sikorsky, the U.S. manufacturer, an extra $117 million. Arbitration is continuing on the company’s claim for what has been reported to be up to $500 million in extra payments.”
Penny-wise, pound foolish.
“Arbitration is continuing on the company’s claim for what has been reported to be up to $500 million in extra payments.”
Yes, but unlike Chretien’s 500 million charge for cancelling a previous helicopter order, the country will at least get new helicopters.
Sorry I’m at the point where I don’t believe anything Mr Harper says. He has backed off on so many of his statements and promises. All we get from him are the words he thinks we want to hear, then he follows his own agenda.
The art of interviewing is similar to that of polling. You ask a leading question, you get the answer you want and-or a lie. On at least two questions (human rights and big spending liberals, Mr. Whyte does not make journalism proud.
the interview wasn’t that bad when you consider what whyte represents, Maude Barlow i didn’t expect. the big spending libs must have been where a bored whyte handed his
[god i hate my computer] pad over to SH and said: ” hear you try.” Has Harper ever faced a hostile interview?
Next election slogan: vote anything but Bloc, i.e. Coalition
Nice try, but it is going to be anything but Harper.
He is the meanest spirited politcian in Canadian history. I did not like Stephane Dion, but his treatment of him was diplorable and showed him to be the nasty person he really is. Despite this free ride agaist dion, he could not muster a majority. It should have been a landslide victory for the Tories and would have been if Harper was not leader. The faster the leader is changed the better chance the Tories will have against Ignatieff.
It’s hard to believe, but I think the interviewer here is actually more right-wing than Harper.
[...] Don’t miss PM Harper’s Macleans interview Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a very shrewd man and Canadians of all political stripes should read the interview in the current issue of Macleans. I would have missed it had I not been at the hairdressers. Readers can access it here. [...]
Yet another Ti-Guy gem, these Libs sure like to step in it;
“Look, we’re going to have to resign ourselves to the fact that a huge proportion of the Canadian population is barely sensate enough to even be allowed to vote at this point.”
70 Liberals coronate Iggy and millions of voters are stupid?
Allowed to vote?
Typical Liberal arrogance.
Another one from Ti-Guy, the poster boy for Leftist Mental Disorder;
“I have to conclude that Canadians are just a lot stupider than I’ve been willing to believe. I honestly thought the online dingbats represented a marginal demographic but not anymore.”
Here’s a link to the above;
http://bigcitylib.blogspot.com/2009/01/has-ignatieffs-shift-to-right.html
[...] Liberals just don’t seem to get it. If, as the prime minister said in a Macleans interview, they take down the government as a coalition, they will have to run in a forthcoming election as a [...]
[...] there is more: In a recent magazine interview, Harper thwarted the hopes of many conservatives when he said that he would not tackle any reform [...]
[...] there is more: In a recent magazine interview, Harper thwarted the hopes of many conservatives when he said that he would not tackle any reform [...]
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