"A week ago, all was politically calm in Canada," The Globe's Jeffrey Simpson notes today in his column What a difference five days make
"Today, five working days later, the government's economic statement and its aftermath have created a political crisis with a coalition of parties determined to defeat the government, creating a possible constitutional crisis involving the Governor-General and the beginning of a nasty national-unity crisis.
"To have created three crises – or dangerous situations, if 'crisis' is too strong a word – for the government and for the country in five working days represents a lack of judgment by a prime minister rarely, if ever, seen in Canadian history.
"Even if Stephen Harper escapes and slays the rickety coalition of Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Québécois arrayed against him – an entirely possible outcome – he has so tarnished his reputation that it is hard to imagine him ever winning a majority government.
"He has signalled to all those who worried about what he might do with a government majority that those worries were not necessarily misplaced."
Whether you agree or not, it's a provocative thesis. That's why we at globeandmail.com are pleased that Mr. Simpson was online earlier today to take your questions on the Harper government's future, the Liberal-NDP coalition plans, and federal politics in general.
Your questions and Mr. Simpson's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Mr. Simpson also wrote earlier this week:
"Prime Minister Stephen Harper is fighting for his political career. Lose the government, lose the Conservative leadership," he added in his column Fighting for his career, Harper will use all weapons at his disposal
"When a prime minister's career is at stake, watch out. Almost anything goes. It's that simple."
Mr. Simpson has won all three of Canada's leading literary prizes — the Governor-General's award for non-fiction book writing, the National Magazine Award for political writing, and the National Newspaper Award for column writing (twice). He has also won the Hyman Solomon Award for excellence in public policy journalism. In January 2000, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He joined The Globe and Mail in 1974. His career with the newspaper began at City Hall in Toronto and with coverage of Quebec politics. In 1977, he became a member of the paper's Ottawa bureau, and eighteen months later he was named The Globe and Mail's Ottawa bureau chief. From 1981-1983, Mr. Simpson served as The Globe's European correspondent based in London, England. He began writing his national affairs column in January, 1984.
Mr. Simpson has published six books — Discipline of Power (1980); Spoils of Power (1988); Faultlines, Struggling for a Canadian Vision (1993); The Anxious Years (1996) and Star-Spangled Canadians (2000). His most recent book, The Friendly Dictatorship: Reflections on Canadian Democracy (2001), was nominated for the Donner Prize as the best book on public policy.
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Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Jeffrey, thanks for joining us yet again today to take questions from the readers of globeandmail.com.
There's no better place to start today than the Governor-General's decision only a few hours ago to grant Prime Minister Harper's request for Parliament to be prorogued. What happens next?
Jeffrey Simpson: Jim, what happens next? You want me to answer such a question after the week we have seen?
