Martinites worried about election call:

[mirror]

Martin faces pressure to put off election call

The Martinites are starting to sweat bullets and are trying to weasle out of calling an elction promised by PM Martin for 30 days following the Gomery commission report..

They know they cannot win a majority government and that PM Martin's political future is TOAST if they get another minority government.

Ha! It looks good on them!

[shoop]

Some of the quotes from this article are brilliant.

And a veteran Liberal MP agrees it is confusing. What did Mr. Martin mean, exactly? "But is it 30 calendar days or is it 30 parliamentary days?" the senior Liberal MP said. "I don't think anyone is going to care, you know that. I don't care if we have it March or April.

Do you think any Canadian citizen made that mistake? I know I routinely ask myself "hmmm, how many parliamentary days till Christms?" wtf?

That one will go over like a lead balloon.

Mr. Martin and his PMO credited Social Development Minister Ken Dryden with coming up with the idea. One MP said yesterday that his colleagues think now that Mr. Dryden "should have shut his mouth."

What are the odds this big mouth MP was one of the multitude of candidates clamouring for Drydent to come help them locally June of last year?

The Liberals are heading for a political minefield if Martin tries to screw with the date of an election in 2006. If they make it till then...

[mirror]

Why else would they be talking with reporters if Dithers wasn't trying to weasle out of it?

[shoop]

Could be that Martin is dithering and they are putting up trial balloons to see how people would react? A little early for that. A couple more weeks before people start to pay attention to politics again.

[mirror]

Picked up from someplace else but truly a great quote:

As always Mr. Martin will follow convention and keep to his promises, unless the polls indicate that he can do otherwise.

[shoop]

Wow, Martin backed off that one quickly.

PM reaffirms he'll call vote after Gomery reports

"I made a very clear commitment. It's 30 days," the prime minister said.

"It's not 30 days, this kind of days or 30 days that kind of days. It's 30 days after Mr. Justice (John) Gomery's final report. "If the opposition hasn't forced an election prematurely, there will be an election call."

How could anyone have thought to try the 30 "parliamentary days" line? If I was trying something that lame I definitely would have done it "on background" too.

[August1991]

From Toronto Star link above:

Martin reaffirmed the pledge at a summer Liberal retreat amid grumbling from some of his own MPs who are unhappy at the prospect of a winter election.

--

"I made a very clear commitment. It's 30 days," the prime minister said.

"It's not 30 days, this kind of days or 30 days that kind of days. It's 30 days after Mr. Justice (John) Gomery's final report.

"If the opposition hasn't forced an election prematurely, there will be an election call."

Did we see the MPs grumbling? Where did the Mr. Dithers' quotes come from? A camera filming his speech before the MPs?

This whole story is designed to show that Mr. Dithers does not dither - he's a leader. Keeps his word when all about him, are losing theirs and blaming it on him.

It was a PR set-up.

First, the members grumble. Second, the "leader" leads. Third, the members fall into line. Lesson/message? The man is a good leader; he doesn't dither. He commands respect. Everyone can see.

[shoop]

This whole story is designed to show that Mr. Dithers does not dither - he's a leader.  Keeps his word when all about him, are losing theirs and blaming it on him.

It was a PR set-up.

First, the members grumble.  Second, the "leader" leads. Third, the members fall into line.  Lesson/message? The man is a good leader; he doesn't dither.  He commands respect.  Everyone can see.

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IHMO that is giving Martin and the Liberals far too much credit as a cohesive team. Power to him for responding so quickly, but there is no way the whole thing was set up in advance.