Stephen Harper – the speech he never gave

“Good evening.

I owe all Canadians those who voted for the Conservative Party and those who didn’t – an apology.  I really didn’t understand how concerned Canadians were about their economic prospects and believed that they would be content to wait until the New Year for our economic plan and budget.

The reaction to my our fiscal update took me completely by surprise.  It was just an update.  I admit that there were a couple of items that could possibly be interpreted as being petty and ideological but I do rule govern Canada and thought I knew what was best.

When I heard that Mr Chretien and Mr Broadbent were negotiating a coalition agreement between the Liberals and the NDP you could have knocked me over with a feather.  The Liberal Party is in disarray, waiting for a new leader, how could they possibly consider governing the country?

In hindsight I have to admit that we reacted badly.  We should have immediately approached the opposition parties with a committment to consult with them regularly and to heed their advice.  We should have shown the Canadian people that our concern is for them.

Instead we decided to do whatever we could to hold on to power, focusing on our best interests rather than those of the country.  We raised the issue of separatism, always a hot button, which served to polarize Canadians and to cloud the issue. We talked about back room deals.

We said that Canadians didn’t vote for a coalition without acknowledging that they also didn’t vote for a majority Conservative Government.  We implied that a coalition government was unconstitutional.

It’s past time for me to admit that I lost sight of the people and was only thinking about staying in power.  A coalition government is constitutional.  It may work, it may not.  If the government loses the confidence vote on Monday I will go to the Governor General and ask her to approve a coalition government.   Before that I will meet with the caucus and if they tell me I should step down as leader for the good of the party and country, I will do so.

I now realize that Canadians gave me a second chance to be Prime Minister and I threw it away.  I apologize.”

Oh, don’t you just wish…

Do you want to lead the Liberals for the good of Canadians or do each of you believe that you, and only you, know what’s best for the country?  If it’s the latter then it’s time to withdraw from the Liberal Leadership race.

Canada doesn’t need any megalomaniac messianic leaders.  We already have Stephen Harper.  If you can’t put your egos aside right now and form a coalition government without internal Liberal oneupmanship then at least be quiet.

“Getting a deal with the NDP and the Bloc is not the problem,” said one Liberal insider. “It’s the internal stuff that’s going to cause this to fall apart.”
Canadian Press

Personally I don’t think Mr Rae and Mr Ignatieff should be running for the leadership.  I don’t think either of them can become Prime Minister.  Mr Ignatieff because he spent so much time outside of Canada and Mr Rae because of the NDP baggage.

You’re both very smart men which makes it difficult for me to understand why neither of you could come up with a positive, concise description of the Carbon Tax.  Seemed to me that your support of Mr Dion was half-hearted at best, certainly for the first part of the campaign.  Some of the responsibility for the Liberals’ poor showing in the 2008 election results has to rest on your shoulders.

And, as much as it pains me to say this – I’m the same age, you’re both too old.  We need new blood, young blood, a liberal leader who will stir us, who will engage younger voters.

This is the acid test of your intentions.  This is the time to put aside your leadership hopes, stop thinking about winners and losers, and put your support solidly and visibly behind Mr Dion as the party leader.  Canadians need a government that cares about people, that is willing to stimulate the economy, that is willing to put national concerns before ideological rhetoric.

This is your chance to do something great for Canada.