Alliance, Tories close to unite-right deal

CBC Newsworld ^ | Oct 15 2003 | CBC Newsworld

[mitchbert]

OTTAWA - A deal to unite the country's two federal right-wing parties is very close, Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said on Wednesday.

INDEPTH: Uniting the Right

Stephen Harper "I do think that we are approaching something that's very historic," Harper said. "It's not often that the political landscape is altered in a big way so quickly, but I think we're very close to doing that."

The Progressive Conservative caucus held a conference call on Wednesday morning and were told a deal was in the works.

Tory Leader Peter MacKay discussed the issue with Harper on Tuesday and they reportedly made great strides toward reaching a deal.

On Wednesday, Harper cancelled a town hall meeting scheduled in Calgary to fly back to Ottawa. He spoke to reporters at the Calgary airport, saying that uniting with the Tories has been a goal of the Alliance since it was formed in March 2000.

"We've done what we planned to do all along," he said. "We'll see if we get the results we want."

MacKay also boarded a plane headed for the capital from Halifax. He is expected to meet with Harper later Wednesday.

The Alliance has also called a caucus meeting for Sunday. All the parties normally hold caucus meetings on Wednesdays while the House is sitting.

Both sides wanted to get a deal done by Thanksgiving to allow time to get ready for the next federal election, expected next year.

If a deal is announced, it's expected both parties will have until some time in December to ratify it.

Talks about merging the two parties went on during the summer, but appeared to have broken down a week ago, with a fair amount of bitterness on both sides.

Now, the CBC's Jennifer Ditchburn says names of potential leaders of the new, united party are floating around the halls of Parliament.

How the leader of a merged party would be chosen has been an obstacle in unite-the-right talks.

Sources have indicated that the Tories have won concessions from the Alliance on the leadership question, getting agreement on a method that gives each riding association equal say in the election. The Tories used it in 1998 when they chose Joe Clark.

The idea of a merger has the support of a sizeable and vocal portion of the Tory membership. Party executives have received numerous phone calls and e-mails from members encouraging the talks.

But the segment of the party that supported David Orchard's leadership bid is dead set against it. They represent about one-quarter of the party membership.

MacKay secured Orchard's support at the leadership convention by agreeing not to seek a merger with the Alliance.

Written by CBC News Online staff

[goldstategop]

The Red Tories would probably like to become the Liberals right wing. That is they want a free market policy but join the Liberals in an embrace of liberal social policy.

[Stallone]

Another McNader problem.

To govern, you must win the votes of not only the base (which is no more than 20% of the population), but appeal to sufficent numbers of the middle to form a MAJORITY.

Other than Planet Bananas, where does 20% equal victory?

More interestingly, here in America, no Democrat president would have been elected if not for women voters. That is, all Democratic presidential post-war candidates would have lost (including Clinton twice) if only men voted.

The point is, you need to have the Warrior Freeper quality of a Schwarzenegger to retain the base (lower taxes, less government, strong defense) and somehow bring the mindless middle votes into your camp.

Hard-core conservative litmus tests will guarantee you failure, not eternal life.

If winning the votes of the majority seems too distasteful, you are not helpful to the conservative cause, and in fact are a danger to it.

[RebelAlbertan]

I can see your point. The problem is the Liberal government (and some provincial governments as well) freely pick policy from the opposing parties and implement tham as their own, guaranteeing a rather static political system.

While it is beneficial for conservatives to propose and implement moderate poliocies that appeal to the moderate voters, any hope for substantial change is inhibited by those who help maintain the status quo.

How then do you pass major parliamentary reform, when it threatens the the existing government apparatus that benefits one region at the expense of all others?

There is no way of sugar coating this type of change, and seemingly no way to make it palatable unless you remove the teeth rendering it ineffective. (For example EEE Senate: Equal-Elected-Effective, where the region that benefits most from the status quo won't vote for Equal senate, so you make it a EE Senate to appeal to the majority so it will be palatable, which in turn eliminates the intended effect and only maintains the status quo).

Therefore there is only one solution to your greivances with the ruling central elite: Removing yourself from them.

[RebelAlbertan]

I can see your point. The problem is the Liberal government (and some provincial governments as well) freely pick policy from the opposing parties and implement tham as their own, guaranteeing a rather static political system.

While it is beneficial for conservatives to propose and implement moderate poliocies that appeal to the moderate voters, any hope for substantial change is inhibited by those who help maintain the status quo.

How then do you pass major parliamentary reform, when it threatens the the existing government apparatus that benefits one region at the expense of all others?

There is no way of sugar coating this type of change, and seemingly no way to make it palatable unless you remove the teeth rendering it ineffective. (For example EEE Senate: Equal-Elected-Effective, where the region that benefits most from the status quo won't vote for Equal senate, so you make it a EE Senate to appeal to the majority so it will be palatable, which in turn eliminates the intended effect and only maintains the status quo).

Therefore there is only one solution to your greivances with the ruling central elite: Removing yourself from them.

[mbraynard]

Thanks for taking the time to write such an intelligent reply.

[goldstategop]

Alberta and the Western and Central Provinces should elect as many Senators as necessary to create a counterbalance in Ottawa. No they won't initially be seated in the Senate but their popular mandate will make it hard for the Government to ignore demands for Senate reform. Power concedes nothing without a demand, never has and never will. If conservative Canadians want a different country they have to be willing to fight for it.

[Great Dane]

About time too. :-}