Yes. I am serious.
Think about it. The Liberals don't want Dion to be PM. It wouldn't be fair to let Iggy or Rae be leader without a convention. Layton could be PM until the Liberals have their leadership convention in May as scheduled. It would be a way to show the NDP, and Canadians for that matter, that the Liberals are serious about forming a coalition government that would work together to get us through these tough economic times.
The Liberals would, of course, still have a majority in cabinet, and therefore would still hold more power than the NDP. But since both parties would need each other (and the Bloc) to stay in power, they would have to find compromise positions on everything anyways.
Before you start calling me crazy, consider this: the whole "who is going to be PM?" business seems to be a sticking point getting in the way of finalizing a deal. And the only way Harper will come out of this a winner is if the opposition parties can't get their sh@% together.
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It has already been reported that the NDP and BQ are comfortable with Dion as PM for a few months.
My theory on that is - they know he won't be leading them into the next election, so they'd rather he be the acting or interim PM then say, Iggy or Rae.
(or LeBlanc)
Yes, the NDP has said that Dion as PM is still on the table for them. But I'm pretty sure the NDP would be more "comfortable" with Jack Layton as PM.
And it's not the NDP or the Bloc who are having major problems with Dion as PM. It's the Liberals.
As someone who voted NDP in the last election, I could be comfortable with Dion as PM until the next Liberal leader is chosen in May.
Perhaps the NDP and/or BQ made that a condition of their support of a coalition government.. who knows? I don't - maybe your NDP contacts do.
But if the Liberals know that Dion is still stepping down in May regardless if he's acting/interim PM or not, I'm sure they'd put aside any differences and allow him to stay leader, if in exchange it meant the Cons falling.
"It wouldn't be fair to let Iggy or Rae be leader without a convention. Layton could be PM until the Liberals have their leadership convention in May as scheduled."
That'll be the day! Nice try, though.
In all likelihood, Iggy would be the PM, after Rae and LeBlanc, take high profile cabinet positions.
Layton should either be the Deputy Prime Minister or Minister of Finance.
Dion, or anyone else fit for Leader of the Opposition, is the leader of the Government-in-waiting. Right now, that's Dion. Soon, it will be Ignatieff.
...and when I say "will" I mean "ought to be." And when I say "ought to be" I mean "I hope it will be."
Dion steps down, Ignatieff takes leadership of the Liberal party. Layton takes his pick of Finance Minister or Deputy PM. Duceppe gets Minister of National Defense.
Imagine that! I'm so excited, I'm about to burst.
Pat Martin gets Environment, Rae gets Foreign Affairs, Goodale gets Industry, Linda Duncan gets Health, Trudeau Citizenship and Immigration... this could go on for a while.
I think the NDP and LPC could really do this country a great service by parsing out Ministerial portfolios based on each member's strength - not on proportion of seats each party has in the house.
The Bloc should be included to a lesser extent as well as portfolios given to both Independents Bill Casey and Andre Arthur.
Inclusiveness and vision: that's what this country needs. And I believe Layton and Dion can do that together.
OH, and lastly, the coalition should set a fixed election date for three years from now! HA!
That way the parties are forced to work together and set a 3-year economic plan that they'll be committed to.
Whoever it is, I would give mor ethen any of you would want to know, just to see the look on Harper's face when he's got to hand over the keys to 24 Sussex.
Who's up for throwing Harper a Housecooling Party?
I think Dion would be PM -- but Layton is asking for Finance.
He would have to receive one of those two positions.
The Liberals will not want to make Layton PM because they don't want the NDP to have THAT much legitimacy.
Finance maybe. But not PM, unless they are really planning for an election in April.
Dion is safe for the Liberals and the NDP because he is stepping down.
However, Jack is a fairly popular leader across Canada, Con critics aside.
Settle down folks. This is going to get much worse, before it gets better.
I think Goodale could become PM if Dion is not wanted, and the best for finance, and who has a long history of finance, would be John Macallum.
Layton would do good in social and family things.
"Layton would do good in social and family things"
I'm sorry that is funny. This hypothetical coalition is going to be pure comedy.
Except it's not a joke to most of us Blues Clair. It's quite serious. We have an opportunity to save jobs and stop Harper once and for all. Holding a coalition of two parties (well three really) together won't be easy and those of us who care can't help but speculate on how they will fairly distribute responsibilities.
You're right, it will be hard to overcome the Conservative onslaught next week but we will be in a much better position to do so if we have a deal that everybody can get behind. So yeah, I'm curious about the details of that deal and I expect that other NDP supporters and Liberal supporters are too.
Look, I like Jack Layton and all, and I really want this coalition thing to happen, but I don't think my RRSPs can take Jack Layton as Finance Minister. Bay Street would be apoplectic!
I think the idea of Layton as PM is really weird, but I'd rather that than Finance Minister. I'm going to be retiring in about 32 years, and I'm not sure that's far enough away for me to have time to recoup the loses my retirement savings would take if Jack Layton were made Finance Minister.
Can supporters of the coalition get an inside "heads up" if that's gonna happen so they can move all their money out of the stock market?
I just got lectured. A constitutional crisis is what this coalition could bring. So a joke, I think not, of this, no. Just some of these comments, Dipper Lady, that's all.
Sorry for sounding overly lecturey BC (but I do recall being lectured by you once or twice before ;)).
I think "constitutional crisis" is a bit harsh. On the contrary, our constitution was made to handle exactly these types of situations. Governments are supposed to be made up of a PM and cabinet that have the confidence of the HoC. If there is a leader who can get that confidence, because the current PM doesn't have it, then the GG has the power to appoint such a person as PM. Right now, the opposition parties are trying to determine whether or not they can put together a coalition that will have the confidence of the HoC- the Hoc made up of MPs that were elected less than two months ago.
I think what the opposition parties are doing is commendable. It could fix the crisis we actually face, which is being made worse by a Conservative government that is more concerned with political maneuvering than with governing.
I don't think my RRSPs can take Jack Layton as Finance Minister.
The coalition will never even get off the ground if people keep saying stupid stuff like this.
ANYBODY BUT DION!!! The public can't stand this person,and no one knows what crazy Ideas he will come up with. He is the only person weak enough to fumble the ball and hand it back to Harper.
Jack Layton makes the most sense to be the Prime Minister until the Liberals choose a new leader.
Given that Dion is the current leader of the official opposition, it would be Dion who would become interim prime minister (interim only because he resigned as leader of the official opposition, and there is currently a leadership race for his spot.) Because he's not very popular, some worry that within the next week, the CPC propaganda machine could potentially turn the public against the idea of a coalition. However, if someone else were to assume the role of interim prime minister (of a coalition gov't), Dion would have to be willing.
Robert,
By that, do you mean the coalition will never get off the ground if people keep saying things like "Jack Layton may end up being Finance Minister" or if people keep saying things like "I think Jack Layton as Finance Minister is a horrible idea"?
'Cause I get that "Jack Layton's going to be Finance Minister" is a scare tactic of the CPC, and I didn't mean to perpetuate THAT, I was just responding to Dylan's suggestion that two of the main options are Layton as PM or Layton as Finance Minister.
I don't think the main problem for the coalition would be that people point out that the country as a whole would never accept Jack Layton as Finance Minister (which is not only true, but I think practically self-evident) but would be the NDP insisting that Jack Layton should be Finance Minister.
I'm MORE than willing to entertain the argument that the country wouldn't accept Dion as PM too, and that an alternative might need to be found. I just hope somewhere, serious people are discussing these things seriously. Because a coalition government would need to be credible, and as much as I respect Jack Layton, no one who didn't vote NDP is going to accept him as Finance Minister.
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