“Ensconced” — I love that word. But in this case…
As much as I might roll my eyes at the feverish fear and loathing Harper provokes in some of the more doctrinaire corners of Left Blogistan, even I have trouble with the idea of him being ensconced — or even sconced – in power for another 8 years. Thirteen(13) consecutive years of Harpie?? Say it ain’t so:
After uniting the right, winning three consecutive Conservative governments, and now facing an opposition in disarray, Prime Minister Stephen Harper could be in power until 2020.
“I think he’s safely ensconced for at least another eight years,” predicts veteran Parliament Hill journalist and Globe and Mail national affairs columnist Lawrence Martin, who documented Prime Minister Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) consolidation of power over five years of minority government in Harperland: The Politics of Control. The bestselling book was re-released last week with a new chapter.
With both the NDP and Liberals in search of leaders who can challenge the Prime Minister in 2015, it appears that the next election is already his to lose.
His to lose his to lose his to lose…
In the absence of an aggressively charismatic opposition leader and/or an economy that goes completely to shit, incumbents are always hard to take out. This goes double(x2) for Harper, who strikes me as the type who’d hang on by his ragged, fungus-laden little toenails simply because he’s got nothing better to do. Former Harper advisor and remorseful wannabe hit man Tom Flanagan concurs:
“He doesn’t really care much about money,” Mr. Flanagan told The Hill Times. “He likes to watch hockey and so on, but he doesn’t have a lot of active interests that he wants to pursue. He doesn’t play golf. He doesn’t play tennis. He doesn’t care much for travel. He doesn’t paint. He doesn’t garden. He doesn’t fish. You know, he loves politics.”
Never mind voting: now we finally know for sure how to remove Harper from office. Find him a hobby! Stamp collecting, home brewing, karaoke, bingo, sky diving, basket weaving, triathlon, anything that will rouse in him such a passion that he can’t wait to leave Parliament Hill behind so he can devote more time to it.
Suggestions, as always, are welcome!
