Monday, May 11, 2009

Ignatieff, Flaky on the Coalition.

This should get Ruby out of the blogs for a couple of days as Ignatieff again talks of the coalition. May 8, 2009:

Some highlights: If the proposed coalition of opposition parties had come to power last year it would have deeply and enduringly divided Canadians, says Michael Ignatieff.

“There was also a question concerning the legitimacy of the coalition that troubled me.” While he said the coalition was democratic he added it would nonetheless have given Canadians the feeling that the parties had "in some sense or another stolen power.”

“I felt it was very difficult to guarantee the necessary political stability during a time of crisis with three partners in a formal coalition,” “That was my first doubt. I couldn't guarantee the long-term stability of the coalition under the circumstances.”

Coming from a guy who said this Dec 1, 2008: The announcement comes only hours after the three Liberal leadership contenders said they would support Dion as the leader of a new government coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois. Speaking outside of the Liberal caucus meeting, Dominic LeBlanc, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, said they all back the deal forged with the NDP.

"The accord that was presented to us received unanimous support and the other issue which is very important is we decided the only person and the best person to lead and form a coalition government is the elected leader of our party, the leader of the opposition Stephane Dion," LeBlanc said.

Ignatieff echoed his words, saying "I support the [coalition] accord because it's fiscally responsible, it provides responsible economic leadership in tough times and it also conserves the basic principles of national unity, equality, that our party has always believed in." and upholds Dion as party leader until May.

"We are at one, the three of us, that the only person who can lead the party is the duly elected leader of the party Mr. Stephane Dion," Ignatieff said.

You can watch Ignatieff here (video 15) ht Wilson.


This December 5, 2008 . "Mr. Harper's only chance for survival is to split the Liberal Party of Canada." "He will try to drive a wedge between us, and he will not succeed. Our party is united in its determination to face Mr. Harper down."

"Canadians can have confidence in a coalition, provided they know certain things are on the table and certain things are off it at all times. And they have our iron-clad assurance they we will govern in their best interest.

"I think this is what Canadian people pay us to do. They pay us to get it right, and I think we have to find a way out of this for all Canadians. I am convinced we can do this. We are up to it. "We are aware we are we are living historic moments. We are aware of the responsibility."

And this January 21, 2009 : "The choice is up to Mr. Harper," Ignatieff said after the meeting. "It's up to him to make the right decision and up to me to decide if he made it. A coalition is still a possibility . . . a coalition if necessary, but not necessarily, a coalition."


And with all the doubts that he now says that he was having about the coalition Ignatieff still managed to sign this:


This guy is too flaky to even be considered for the job of PM as his word and signature obviously mean squat.

Update: Dr. Roy in the comments brings up a very interesting point. If Iggy had doubts about the stability of the coalition back in December when he signed the agreement, he wasn't just lying to Canadians, he was also lying to the Governor General to get her to allow this coalition to take power claiming among other things that it would be stable enough to form the government.

Steve Janke doesn't mince words: Ignatieff is a liar. He also has an interesting point at the end of his blog entry asking when Ignatieff is going to thank the PM for proroguing Parliament and saving the country from an unstable coalition government involving "people who want to split my country up".

Update May 21: Coyne has similar thoughts.

12 comments:

KURSK said...

..and he has still not forsworn the notion of reviving the coalition if the numbers look good for him to go back to the polls.

Bec said...

I always had trouble that the SIMPLE task of signing his name and printing his name, was not correctly applied, on this document.
That alone, showed an inability to comprehend and follow a common legal process.

Roy Eappen said...

So iggy now admits he and the grits lied to HM Governor General. Treachery thy name is liberal

Anonymous said...

How many flip-flopped has this been for Iggy? Does anyone really know what this man stand for? That must be the reason there is no policy - he makes them up as he goes - and changes them to suit the audience!

wilson said...

AA, theres a video link that goes with your Dec 1/08 quote.

Scroll down list of videos to the 15th link and
hear/watch Iffy say the exact opposite of what he is preaching these days about the coalition:

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20081130/conservative_budget_081201?hub=TorontoNewHome

Anonymous said...

to coin a phrase, if Iggy truly was against the coalition "he could have said no!"

- I think he's acting his way out of this issue and he really does believe he can count on a coalition at his command.

wilson said...

Iffy thinks Canadians are stupid.

Anonymous said...

Mr Ignatieff is desperate for a famous ending to his biography and that's the truth.

Thanks,

maryT said...

He has promised the terrorist supporting tamils in Ont that he will bring their concerns up in the HofC. Guess he has decided to show his face there again. But, they should not count on it,he might decide canadians don't like who vote liberal, and throw them under the bus.
Don't those tamils have jobs or are they the unemployed or on welfare.
Wonder how many of them got in telling lies about being in danger back home.
No more refugees from 3rd world countries.

Ardvark said...

It might be a case of Iggy trying to get this out of the way now rather than during an election. Too bad for him that most Canadians could care less about politics until a campaign.


Updated with the link from Wilson and Dr.Roy. Thanks.

Patrick Ross said...

Say what you will about Ignatieff's obvious change of heart regarding the coalition -- distancing himself from it is a wise decision, both politically and democratically.

He'll remain vulnerable on that particular topic, but having made what is clearly the right decision in the end, it won't be an election-breaking issue.

maryT said...

Way off topic but just watching cbc as I clicked on here. Full coverage of Brian leaving the hotel to go to the inquiry. He is looking anxious. Some female yelled, how do you feel about being questioned today. No answer, closed the car door and is on his way. What a waste of cbc money, watching a hotel door open. One reporter said, this could be embarassing if someone comes out with someone they shouldn't be with.
Also today, Ruby will testify before some committee. Who will get the major coverage.