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Adam Radwanski, globeandmail.com: Brian, thanks for taking the time during a very chaotic weekend. Does the Tories' retreat on public funding for political parties reduce the chances of the opposition bringing down the government?

Brian Topp: That move doesn't reduce the chances of a change of government in my view.

I haven't said these words for quite awhile, but here goes: I agree with Bob Rae. Something clicked this week.

The combination of incompetence and meanness on display in that economic statement, in these times, was a pretty persuasive case that Mr. Harper and his team are unfit to govern, and aren't capable of meeting the obligations this Parliament has to Canadians.

Adam Radwanski: During the election campaign, Mr. Layton didn't give the impression that he thinks Mr. Dion is fit to govern, either. Could the NDP really participate in a government led by the current Liberal leader?

Brian Topp: I think Mr. Layton sees his job as doing the best he can in the Parliament Canadians have just elected to advance the agenda and values he stands for.

The Liberals are another party in this minority House. Possibly our party can work with them - we'll see.

Who the Liberals have as leader is their business. In election campaigns we compete with all the other parties; the public makes its choices; and then we see what we can make with the results until next time.

Adam Radwanski: Just how much of a role would the NDP need to have in a new government for it to be worth its while?

Brian Topp:: My sense of it is that New Democrats have mixed feelings about our experience with "accords" and are more interested in a real role in government. Being at the table where decisions are taken is why parties run for office.

Adam Radwanski: Hypothetically, could Mr. Layton serve effectively as both a minister and as leader?

Brian Topp: Yes, as occurs in most European governments.

Adam Radwanski: Are there specific economic measures that are - or should be — make-or-break matters for the NDP before entering a coalition?

Brian Topp: Our caucus is thinking carefully about that this weekend.

I think our overall approach has been set out pretty clearly: job creation measures; income security measures; fiscal prudence and responsibility. Taking our place with other Western democracies in effectively addressing the present economic crisis.

Adam Radwanski: What about canceling corporate tax cuts - an issue Mr. Layton has been quite passionate on?

Brian Topp: I guess, in the event we get that far, that a number of difficult policy contradictions will have to be resolved. We have a few; so do the other parties in the House.

Adam Radwanski: Are there sticking points among the Liberals' existing policies, then?

Brian Topp: There is a lot of overlap between what the opposition parties think, especially about what needs to happen on the economy. Finding those points of overlap and agreement is the art here. I don't think there is much focus on problems and difficulties so far.

Adam Radwanski: How prepared are you for the public relations offensive that everyone is expecting from the Conservatives this week?

Brian Topp: We'll see. I'd say, judging (for example) from Saturday's Globe, that their campaign isn't off to a good start.

Their vote didn't grow in the last election. That suggests they aren't resonating well outside of their base. I think that voters for other parties might welcome seeing their back - and that their current shrill, over-the-top messaging isn't going to work better with most folks than their much more carefully thought-through stuff did during the campaign.

Adam Radwanski: How much does it matter one way or the other how this plays out in the media or in public opinion polls over the next week? Would a backlash be enough to deter a change of government, or would it just put the onus on that new government to prove its worth?

Brian Topp: What the public thinks always matters. I just think at the end of the day that a change of government would be welcomed by the large majority of Canadians who voted for one in the last election - and that an improvised Conservative information blitz aimed at their base won't change this.

Adam Radwanski: Will there be a joint effort by the three opposition parties to counter that blitz?

Brian Topp: That depends on events in coming days.

Adam Radwanski: What kind of reaction is the NDP getting from its membership right now? Are efforts needed to convince some New Democrats that it's worth cooperating with the Liberals?

Brian Topp: We like to debate things in our party, and the events of this week will be talked about for a long time no matter what ultimately happens. But I suspect that replacing a Conservative government with something (hopefully) better from our perspective would be widely welcomed in our party, were it to occur.

Adam Radwanski: Amid all the discussions going on right now, what about discussions with the Conservatives to try to make the current government work?

Brian Topp: Curiously, the Conservatives haven't initiated such discussions. They also didn't consult about their economic statement.

Adam Radwanski: How much would they have to do right now to put an end to the movement to defeat them?

Brian Topp: I don't know. That's a three-party question.

We don't have any real experience with being courted by this government and it's hard to imagine what they could be interested in proposing that would put us in their column.

I guess other parties would have their own decisions to make.

Our friends on the blue team seem to mostly focus on sticks, and not so much on carrots.

Adam Radwanski: There are those who argue that to back down now, under pretty well any circumstances, would give this government carte blanche to run roughshod over the opposition. Do you agree with that?

Brian Topp: The "carte blanche" era is over for good, I think. The opposition has rediscovered that it is the majority when it combines. The Conservatives have put themselves well outside of the views of that majority (and of the Canadian public, in our view). That's a permanent change.