ht: NNW
So let’s see: the coalition was divisive, illegitimate, unstable, and wrong—a formal pact with a separatist party that would have guaranteed them, in the words of the accord to which the three opposition leaders affixed their signatures, a “permanent consultation mechanism” in the government of Canada. Or pretty much what all of the coalition’s critics said at the time.
Except, that is, for Michael Ignatieff. At the time, he vowed his support for the coalition, explicitly, publicly, and repeatedly. At the time, he said, “I stand at one with other parliamentary colleagues in believing that we need to present the alternative of a coalition.” At the time, he said the coalition “provides responsible economic leadership in tough times.” At the time, he said Canadians should not fear the Bloc Québécois’ role in the coalition. He even signed a formal petition to the Governor General, assuring her that the coalition represented “a viable alternative government.”
Ignatieff was not the Liberal leader at the time, of course. But the then-leader, Stéphane Dion, had already announced his departure. And Ignatieff was the clear favourite to replace him, with the support of at least two-thirds of the Liberal caucus. Many in the party, moreover, were skittish of formally aligning themselves with the NDP and the Bloc, if not outright opposed. So there can be little doubt that, had Ignatieff come out against the coalition, it would not have happened. He could have stopped it, cold. But he didn’t.
Why did Michael Ignatieff try to sell out Canada to the extreme neo-Communists and Quebec separatists?
Why, Michael? WHY?
