Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

We choose to go to China… at some point, maybe

by Aaron Wherry on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 1:10pm - 26 Comments

Michael Ignatieff, yesterday. Stephen Harper has been prime minister for four years, and he’s never visited China. We’ll be there next week.

Canadian Press, today. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is cancelling a week-long trip to China due to his self-declared threat of a fall federal election, The Canadian Press has learned … Liberal insiders say he spoke Friday morning with Canada’s ambassador to China, David Mulroney, who had been helping co-ordinate the trip, and postponed it for the time being. Ignatieff plans to reschedule the visit as soon possible, said a party source.

Tags: China, election, Michael Ignatieff, Stephen Harper

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http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

Why does this somehow not surprise me?
http://intensedebate.com/people/SisyphusThis SisyphusThis

No problem. They were working him in around the state delegation from Macedonia anyway.
Anon

Why should it be surprising? Events change and plans change. Besides, who cares, really? Canada's trade with China is still pretty insignificant and until the its bestest friend and trading partner finally declares bankruptcy, nothing much will change.
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

Trusty media – he said he's "postponing" the trip.

Hello – with election talk in the air and games being played, why would he go right now?

http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Yes, it's hard to see why anyone would get the idea he meant to go "right now," having promised yesterday in the course of an election threat to do just that.
http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Yes, it sure is hard to see why anyone would get the idea he meant to go "right now," having promised yesterday in the course of an election threat to do just that, or whyever there might be an issue of cognitive dissonance at play here.

(If I announce that my opponent is an incompetent fool for never having done X, which I plan to do tomorrow in order to demonstrate my superior competence and wisdom, and my actions today realistically preclude my doing X tomorrow, what does it say about me?)

http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

Spot on. Pretty amateur move to brag about a trip you are going to take, promise an election in the same speech, then immediately cancel the trip you were just bragging about because of said election.

dan in van

Hey, get back to stroking the so-called leader who said 'we'd be in recession already' and 'we won't go into deficit' before he already had piloted us there. Never mind the 'no tax on income trusts' and 'stand up for canada' fibs…

http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Irrelevant quip is irrelevant.

http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

Only Harper could go to China.
Bobb

Ignatieff will still make it there before Harper.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Michael Ignatieff seems to be in the habit of proudly announcing big things, and then beating a hasty retreat and hoping nobody notices.

The "Thinkers Conference", which was to take place this summer or fall, was quietly postponed to "early 2010".

The saber-rattling gambit this spring? Hasty retreat.

The much touted China trip ("we'll be there next week") was postponed mere hours after he spoke those words, ironically because he announced his intention to trigger a fall election in the very same speech.
Ted

Where was it "touted"? I mean, other than in this one line from this one speech, which hardly counts as "much touting".

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

http://www.liberal.ca/en/newsroom/media-releases/…

“After the damage the Harper government has done to Canada-China relations, it’s imperative that the Liberal team begin the work of salvaging this important historical partnership right away” -Ignatieff, August 18

The China trip announcement received plenty of media coverage that week.
Calgary Junkie

Ooops

http://intensedebate.com/people/psiclone psiclone

I think Iggy needs more shoes, as he is becoming quite adept at placing more than one at a time in his mouth. Probabaly doesn't matter anyways as it qwould only be a phot op anymways. I can see the Chinese Central Committee right now. Excuse me sir\\madam we have a gentleman here from <quickly look at pice of paper> Canada and apparently he wants to talk with anyone that might be half way important. He claims to be the leader of one of the opposition parties in Canada and is requesting an audience. The Important Chinese Official responds something along the line of ' What time is Dim Sum'?

Jenn

Agreed. I can't understand why he would say he was going in a speech that precluded his going, but I think going as the Prime Minister is far more important than going next week.

http://intensedebate.com/people/TwoYen TwoYen

No problem. He'll have lots of time after the election when Bob Rae takes over as interim Opposition Leader.
tobyornottoby

I've got the solution … let's all go to China for them (until after the election is over).
http://intensedebate.com/people/Gaunilon Gaunilon

Since when is visiting China a Prime Ministerial requirement?

http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Apparently it was a significant indicator of statesmanship and all-around gravitas between the hours of 1:22pm, September 1, and 11:37am, September 2. So I hear.
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Well, apparently it was a leading indicator of statesmanship and all-around gravitas between the hours of 1:22pm, September 1, and 11:37am, September 2. So I hear.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sourstud sourstud

Iggy simply will not allow himself to be attached to anything he says – he is simply terrified of alienating a single voter, no matter what part of the spectrum they're from. I think that Iggy and the Liberal puppet masters think he can sweep in on a wind of change, a la Obama. I think most Canadians see him more like Dick Cheney Light than Obama.
Calgary Junkie

One of Iggy's strategists should point to him that he's supposed to wrong foot the OTHER guy, not HIMSELF.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

If Iggy called the ambassador to postpone the Chinese trip on Friday morning, and then in his big speech on Monday he said "We'll be there next week", was Iggy lying? Seems like a pretty big whopper to me.
http://www.vacationrentalsad.com jeff kramer

Enter text right here!I think he would say—I don’t know what to tell you buddy, but stick with it….