Canada Prime Minister Stephen harper, the new height of arrogance
 

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/...-election.html

Wow is all I have to say. how arrogant and childish can one politician get?

It's not so much arrogant as he's playing a political game, mate. He knows fully that the liberals being ousted had more to do with the public punishing them than it did with actual politics. If the cons want to stay in power, they have to do something to prove they've earned it, and they haven't. He's trying to stall for time.

very true, but he essentially did the political equivilant of having TV cameras in his office, latching himself to his desk, screaming "Mine! Mineeeee!"

Sure he is playing the politcal game, but he still has a lot of balls saying 'there is no reason to have a election now, the people do not want a election' when that was the exact case during this time last year. The election could have waited till after the holidays.

He talks a good game, that's for damn sure.

Arrogance really has nothing to do with it.

I bet the reason why he is saying that bullshit is because he knows that if a election where to take place, he would most likely lose this postition as PM.

No shit?

It's ballsy, and I like that. Canadians could use leadership with balls.

I like big balls.

This quote aside, I agree with Brady here. Of course he's doing it to strengthen his own position. Why would he even make a comment if not to bolster himself? I don't like the conservative government, largely due to Harper's personal agenda, but I don't much care for the liberals until they can prove they have a leader worth believing in.

I don't like the conservatives either, and the liberals don't have a good history... I voted for NDP. However the new leader of the liberal party looks promising. Guess we will have to see what happens.

Keep in mind, this is from the same guy that said he didn't "believe the polls that most Canadians are against the war in Afghanistan".

If he doesn't like it, it doesn't exist.

That being said, does anyone else think that everytime he's on tv he looks like he put on too much makeup? He's so pale and...flat. It's like the fucking Joker is running the place.

Remember.. Harper knows how to play the political game... even if you don't agree with his politics.

I voted NDP as well, although I tend towards the Liberals. I don't like Stephan Harper at all, and am getting more disappointed with him every time he does something that opens up old wounds, such as the Quebec thing a couple weeks ago and the gay marriage thing.

I don't see how this has anything to do with arrogance. Of course Stephen Harper wants to remain Prime Minister; it would be stupid if he didn't. The thing that irritates me the most about all of this is the BQ (Bloc Quebecoise): they insist that the Canadian military should focus more on reconstruction in Kandahar, but how the hell are they supposed to do that when there's a war going on over there?

The Conservatives are the only party in Parliament that have a viable plan for victory in Afghanistan. It's the Conservatives who are dedicated to increasing defence spending and keeping our troops equipped while they take the fight to the Taliban. If we have a weak foreign policy, we will continue to be an irrelevant power with no influence around the world. To have a say in anything we have to prove that we're willing to commit our troops to dangerous missions. Most important, when we commit to a mission we have to show that we will actually follow through with it until the objective is completed.

I personally don't want another Liberal government undermining our military, especially when we are now more at risk against a terrorist attack than at any other point in our modern history.

Read: If we have low defence spending, we will continue to be an irrelevant power with no influence around the world.

He does have a point, though. It's hard if not impossible to focus on reconstructing when some douche with a mortar can blow up weeks worth of construction. We've proven that point quite well. :)

Canada's the best thing the Afghans have right now. Shifting the focus of their mission means one of two things: Harper is right and the Bloc is using the Afghan mission as a scapegoat, or the Bloc (if not liberals in general) wants to undermine the Canadian mission and provide the pretext for withdrawal.

QFT. Heck, I've been called a crazy lib before but even I think Harper's doing a good job so far. I really don't see why he should be bothered to hold an election.

didnt martin get us into afghanistan in the first place?
and why are we fighting america's war? and why does the polish defence minister have to be appointed by the states? and why does there have be a scandal around every american election? and where's michael moore and why havent we heard anything about the camera's he provided for the ohio electiorate in the bush/kerry duel just to make sure nothing fishy is going on?

as far as the quebec issue goes, wasnt it liberal candidate ignatieff who insisted that quebec be a nation within canada? as much as i hate the conservatives, i just feel a political coup in the making. i voted ndp before, and i'll vote ndp again. and yes, layton DOES have budget skills, he ballaced paul martin's in his final year while the cons/libs we're busy mudslinging each other.

oh, and gay rights/abortion. i dont care what your sentiments are. it just seems like the hot topic-de-jour which pops up to cover up some controversy. the first time was when bush wanted to set up military bases on our seashores, the other when martin was trying to hide stuff before the election. frankly who you choose to sleep with shouldnt even involve politics. that could be used to build hospital/roads ect ect.

if we're to get rid of harper it better be for something better. none of the vote for the less of 2 evils garbage. i miss jean chretien already.

Wait... I'm a staunch conservative... although the Rupublican party in America is not exactly consevative anymore. But to me countries such as England, France and Canada don't really have a line between the two movements. They are all liberal to me. As far as arrogance on this man's part I don't see it. He is trying to hold his position. He sounds more fearful of losing his job than arrogant. He does sound like a dick though.

yeah. that pretty much sums it up. once the election comes up, he'll be out of there faster than fresh baked donuts at Tim Horton's

Polls aren't a precise view of something.

I don't see mysekf as prime minister and then asking for a poll among all canadians to see what their opinion is about something so I can take the "good" decision.

I hate this kind of crap about polls. People elected someone, then do with it. I'm perfectly fine with the way he's going right now. Sure, he might relegate Kyoto to the lowest priority and he's going to pay eventually for that.

Politics works so that if the people don't like it, then you don't get elected in the next elections.

So, why should we spend again millions of dollars on elections that we don't really need right now. I mean, they don't have the balance of power of the house, the NDP does. So, if it has to be overthrown then tell the NDP, Bloc and Liberals to do so. But do not think he's going to rely on polls to make hs decisions, that would be just plain stupid. I mean yes, it would be the best democracy ever, but what if everyone would be for a stupid law (fictionnal example here) such as you have to wacth tv only two hours a day, no more no less. Would he then pass the law because the polls told him to?

If people are angry, then protest. I don't see much people protesting right now...

That said, I might be from Quebec City, but I hate the Bloc...and the liberals.

1) The Bloc introduced a Quebec motion, and Harper very skilfully got them to agree to his own version of the Quebec motion which really took their thunder.

2) It was an election to have a vote on gay marriage, and now the issue is finally buried.

First off, it is not "America's War", nor is it another Iraq. It is a NATO mission that has been legitmized by the UN and serving Canada's national interest -which by the way, is the role of the Canadian Forces. That's why we deployed peacekeepers and its wh we are deploying combat troops and CIDA.

The fact is that Harper has broken ONE election promise that I can think of. That's a very good track record as far as PMs go. He's sorted out softwood lumber, taken larger steps to rebuild the Canadian military, has played his role well in supporting the Afghan mission and has done a good job managing the economy.

What more could you ask for? Stephan Dion has plenty of ideas, as he is a an academic, but he doesn't seem to have an ability to reach out and create a vision of Canada as Harper can.