Stephen Harper, the Election Timetable, and the Flying Circus

Once upon a time Stephen Harper used to attack the governing Liberals all the time by accusing them of taking too many trips on Challenger jets.

But that was then and now it's different. 

Now they're the Challenger Cons.

Even Mr Austerity likes to use them all the time...



And now Stephen Harper has taken his Flying Circus to new heights, by lending his friends his personal airbus. 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave visiting European delegates a free flight home to Brussels last week, after adding a Toronto reception to their schedule, CBC News has learned. 

That reception made it impossible for the visitors to make a planned commercial flight from Ottawa, and thereby get to a Saturday meeting in Brussels. The cost of the Airbus flight is estimated at more than $300,000.

And sticking taxpayers with the humungous bill...



And when I see how he's behaving, I really have to wonder where he is going eh?

And which of these options in this Lawrence Martin story will he choose?

A federal election this fall? Don’t rule it out. Top Liberal Party strategist Gerald Butts says his party is preparing for that scenario, among others. While most speculation has centred on the possibility of Prime Minister Stephen Harper moving up the election date from next fall to next spring, the Liberals believe it’s even possible he could drop the writ a month from now.

Will he go for a fall election? Will he wait until October 2015? Will he call one in the Spring? Or pounce in early December?

If Justin Trudeau’s popularity numbers start to slide, Mr. Harper may pounce right away. 

The Conservatives have a budget update to deliver, and if they’re gaining ground, they may use it – with some big tax-cut promises – as a springboard for a snap election. It would be 31/2 years into a majority mandate. Jean Chrétien went to the polls twice on a similar time frame.

And although all those scenarios are possible, the way he is behaving makes me think, tonight at least, that he might choose this one:

The PM reads the tea leaves/billboards and concludes that it’s time. He calls a Conservative leadership convention to be held in February. The option has much to recommend it. He goes out as one of the big winners in party history, having moved the conservative agenda appreciably forward in many policy areas. He avoids the distinct possibility of a humiliation at the hands of a Trudeau.

Because the way he is spending almost all his time on the road, polishing his turd of a legacy, like most Prime Ministers tend to do at the end of their mandates.

And the way he is giving his friends a ride to Europe on a massive airbus, makes me think that he just couldn't care less anymore.

That he can see the runway in the distance, or Mike Duffy's heat seeking missile. He's getting ready to bail, so he'll do ANYTHING.

And if Canadians don't like it they can shove it.

It's his flying circus...



But then of course he hasn't cared about so many things in this country. Our democracy, our laws, our values.

And we can't be sure what he will do:

Looking at these choices, the cautious wagering would be on the first option, the set date. But Mr. Harper is an aggressive tactician, well capable of rolling the dice. He is behind in the polls and has to shake things up somehow. In other words, expect the unexpected.

Because he is crazy desperate.

So I think the best thing to do is use the fact that he just couldn't care less against him.

And use it to help dump him and his filthy Cons...



Because we DO care about Canada, and it DOES deserve better.

You know, it was a wonderfully warm evening, and I was out on my bike.

And I thought if Canada is this beautiful now... 



And it is...



Can you imagine how beautiful it will be when Stephen Harper is finally gone?

I dream of that wonderful day.

And it can't come soon enough...

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