Posted on 01/11/2006 2:59:40 AM PST by ConservativeStLouisGuy
With The Tories Closing In On A Majority, Their Leader Becomes The Target
Election front-runner Stephen Harper faced a gang-up yesterday as his political rivals moved to reverse Conservative momentum, especially in Quebec.
The Tory Leader, now boasting a double-digit lead according to some polls, was forced to absorb criticism from all fronts as Liberal Leader Paul Martin moved to win back federalist votes bleeding to Mr. Harper's party, while Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe accused Conservatives of being part of the Option Canada issue.
The French-language debate was the last chance the four leaders had to face each other head on before the Jan. 23 vote.
It was the most personal of the four debates, with leaders making mistakes in their delivery and accusing each other of lying. It also had a distinctly Quebec focus, with issues such as Meech Lake and distinct society resurrected from decades past.
Mr. Duceppe lumped the Conservatives and Liberals together, insisting they both breached ethical standards in the period around the 1995 referendum campaign.
"It is clear that the parties directed from Toronto or Calgary cannot respond to Quebec's aspirations," he said in his closing statement. "Federalist parties do not defend Quebec's interests and when our future is at stake, they are capable of the worst."
The RCMP is looking into Option Canada, which received $4.8-million from Ottawa before the referendum without revealing how it was spent.
And Mr. Duceppe said Conservative Quebec campaign co-chair Pierre-Claude Nolin was an "instigator" of the Montreal love-in rally before the sovereignty referendum, and that also did not respect Quebec election-spending laws.
"The Option Canada scandal showed that the Liberals and the Conservatives are not different," he said.
It was an accusation that had Mr. Martin and Mr. Harper complaining of unfair mudslinging. "It's not a crime to promote federalism in Quebec," Mr. Harper said.
In his opening statement, Mr. Martin turned against Mr. Harper, arguing that he would cut Quebec's daycare funding, oppose the Kyoto accord on greenhouse-gas emissions, and support both the war in Iraq and the U.S. ballistic-missile shield.
The Liberal Leader also resurrected both men's positions on the constitutional debates of more than a decade ago.
"I supported the Meech accord and distinct society. Mr. Harper was against both," he said.
For his part, New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton went after Mr. Harper for his refusal to reveal donors to his 2002 Canadian Alliance leadership campaign, and later, on his pledge to cut the GST, saying businesses might react by raising prices.
Mr. Harper went into the debate with the most to gain in Quebec, as polls show his party with substantial momentum and an uptick in the polls. The most recent Strategic Counsel survey shows that the Tories are second to the Bloc in Quebec, at 22 per cent, three percentage points ahead of the Liberals.
Mr. Harper appealed to Quebeckers to join in a change of regime. "On Jan. 23rd, I am offering you power and pride," he said in his closing remarks. "Let's change for real."
Earlier, he cloaked himself in the reputation for integrity of late Parti Québécois premier René Lévesque.
"We intend to clean up the mess in Ottawa, to do the same things to bring accountability to Ottawa that Mr. Lévesque did in Quebec," Mr. Harper said.
He also accused the Bloc of being powerless to fix Quebec's fiscal problems, and the so-called fiscal imbalance -- the notion that Ottawa runs surpluses while the provinces are financially squeezed.
"You've spoken for a long time of the fiscal imbalance, but I'm going to solve it," Mr. Harper said to the Bloc Leader.
The fiscal imbalance also provoked a later battle between Mr. Harper and Mr. Martin -- as Mr. Harper sold his decentralist vision by promising to settle the imbalance while Mr. Martin refused to recognize it exists. Mr. Martin scoffed that he had no real plan.
"How much will you give to Quebec? How much will you give to Ontario? How much to the other provinces?" Mr. Martin fired back. "Tell us, if you have the solution."
There was also a series of nasty exchanges and missteps, however, with Mr. Martin once attacking the wrong target and Mr. Harper looking surprised when called upon to speak, and passing up his chance.
Mr. Martin turned to ask Mr. Layton why he would enshrine property rights and not protect a woman's right to choose. "Is that your hidden agenda?" he asked.
It was an attack meant for Mr. Harper, but Mr. Layton was furious.
"You are making things up," the NDP Leader retorted. When he in turn accused Mr. Martin of refusing to name the donors to his leadership bid, Mr. Martin replied: "You shouldn't come to this debate and tell lies like that." (Mr. Martin revealed the donors to his 2003 leadership, but not his failed 1990 bid.)
The new targeting of Mr. Harper did not stop Mr. Martin from being subjected to plenty of attacks -- on Option Canada, on income trusts, and on the damage the sponsorship scandal did to national unity.
At one point, Mr. Martin came under fire from all three opposition leaders on the softwood-lumber dispute with the Americans.
The four leaders move back to the campaign trail today, with Mr. Harper targeting Liberal-held ridings in New Brunswick and Mr. Martin trying to shore up his Toronto base. Mr. Layton heads to the Liberal-NDP battleground of Hamilton, while Mr. Duceppe heads to Quebec City.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.