Canadian politics in a convoluted mess

OTTAWA, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The normally benign nature of government in Canada is in an impassioned upheaval, with analysts likening it to a banana republic and on its way to becoming a European "pizza parliament."

With the global economic meltdown as the backdrop and the lust for power not far behind, rarely seen political fisticuffs and parliamentary maneuvering that prompted the Queen Elizabeth's representative, the governor general, to suspend Parliament, Canadians have become transfixed and vocal about the battle that began Nov. 27 in Ottawa.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government was re-elected in October, a snap election he called in a bid to win a majority. Harper said with financial markets in turmoil, he couldn't govern under a constant threat of being toppled by opposition Liberals, socialist New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

On Nov. 27, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty ignited the parliamentary firestorm with his economic forecast, a precursor to the budget that was promised for January. He broadly acknowledged how the economic downturn was affecting Canada and hinted at measures that would be taken. He then got very specific in announcing federal election subsidies to political parties would be abolished.

That was the jibe that galvanized the opposition. Within two days, the three parties announced they had formed a coalition and would vote down the government and form a new one with a Liberal and NDP Cabinet with the separatists' backing.

Harper in turn said he would never allow separatists to be part of a ruling coalition and invoked a parliamentary option of asking Governor General Michaelle Jean to prorogue, or suspend, Parliament until he could at least get a budget prepared.

The pair met in private for more than two hours, indicating Jean's wariness of being used as a political pawn. As the vice-regal representative, her other two options were to dissolve Parliament and call for another election or allow the coalition to take over.

Announcing the suspension through to Jan. 26, Harper said the opposition had allowed his government only two weeks after the election to have a specific budget plan in place and said no government in Canadian history had faced creating a budget within four months of being elected.

With a long recess ahead, the Liberals, reeling from the worst election results since Confederation in 1867, turned their attention to leader Stephane Dion. He had said he would step down when a new leader was elected at a convention in May but pressure on him mounted and he said Monday he would leave as soon as an interim leader was found.

This week, in a swift series of moves, the party named Toronto member of Parliament Michael Ignatieff, 61, the interim leader to take the helm. He was widely expected to be ratified at the Vancouver convention that runs April 29-May 3 since two other Liberals who sought the leadership have publicly endorsed him.

As the Conservatives feverishly cobble together a budget they've conceded will produce some form of deficit, government is in limbo with the Liberals, NDP and Bloc holding 163 seats in Parliament to the Conservatives' 143.

As for the fate of the coalition, Ignatieff told reporters earlier this week he's not committed to adhering to the agreement with the now often-quoted phrase "coalition if necessary, not necessarily coalition," but said he's fully prepared to vote down the government if he doesn't like what he sees in the budget.

Harper has said he welcomes opposition input to the budget but Ignatieff said Wednesday the Conservatives' brinkmanship had destroyed trust in Parliament and suspicions were natural.

"We simply do not have confidence in the figures that have been produced (since the October election) for us," Ignatieff said.

Parliament will resume Jan. 26 with a throne speech, or state of the nation, outlining the Conservatives' assessment and plans. The budget will be introduced the next day. At that point, the opposition parties have the opportunity to bring down the government with a no-confidence vote. Should that happen, the governor general would meet separately with Harper and Ignatieff and decide whether to ask Ignatieff to lead the government or call another election, which would likely be in the spring.