During the heated Ontario provincial election, many were speculating
that if there was to be such a thing as a Liberal minority government
after October 6th, it would be Andrea Horwath that would be the
kingmaker. A woman moderating the conversation between her two male
counterparts, Dalton McGuinty and Tim Hudak.
But now that
October 6th has passed us and the Liberals have emerged in government
again with one seat short of a majority, it seems that Frank Klees, a
failed conservative leadership candidate, has taken to run for the
position of Speaker of the House at Queen’s Park. This of course good
news for liberals as the shift for MPP Klees to the role of speaker
will mean that both the Conservatives and NDP will have 53 seats in
combination, the same number of seats as their liberal rivals, in the
Commons.
Which would make bringing down the Liberal government
and triggering an election again a practical impossibility. This is
because it is a known fact that traditionally the Speaker tends to vote
with the government.
Of course, one could also speculate that
this is actually a part of the Hudak Tory plan. Prop Klees up
purposefully as kingmaker in the position of speaker without making it
look as if it benefits the Conservative party directly. At this point it
is difficult to tell whether this shuffle will have a significant
impact on the way the parties will communicate with each other. Well see
what happens if and when Klees gets appointed.
Nevertheless, it
is important to keep an eye out for power-brokering moves from all of
the parties. It is a sure bet that the liberals will try to consolidate
power and in some sense turn their minority into a majority, not
necessarily on paper. And it is also important to watch for the
conversation between the Liberals and NPD coming from the left corner.
In
my opinion, it is necessary to keep the Conservatives in Ontario at bay
from power for as long as possible, or at least until the Federal
Liberal Party manages to rebuild and challenge Harper’s blue legacy.
For
more information on this latest development, read the following article
in the National Post here
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/25/former-ontario-tory-leadership-candidate-seeks-speakers-seat-in-queens-park/
