The Globe and Mail

If this rumour is true then it is the first move Jack Layton has made since he became leader of the NDP that is, without qualification, strategically smart.
 
The NDP is in absolutely no shape to fight an election right now. While they didn't quite spend the maximum that they promised to spend during the last election, they did spend significantly more than the Liberal Party and received far less in public subsidies. So while I haven't seen a public figure on their current debt, I imagine it is significant (despite public bravado that they could fight an election at any time).
 
Their performance since Christmas has been dismal and they are being squeezed out of an increasingly binary public narrative since the arrival of Michael Ignatieff as Liberal Leader.
 
In other words, they need time and something to change the channel.
 
But what makes this smart is Jack isn't just buying time, he is actually choosing a smart issue with which to enter into an, um, socialist-Conservative coalition. Consider:
 
1. It is a principled position - it's easy to say they have been in favour of proportional representation previously as opposed to some of Jack's Johnny-come-lately positions.
 
2. It is clearly in their short- and long-term electoral interest if the referendum passes (the only caveat to this is it is even more in the Green Party's interest if it passes).
 
3. It isn't a money item at a time of record deficits, which is smart of the NDP to avoid. This is as close to a zero-cost policy as they can find.
 
4. It is something the Prime Minister can support (even if it is most clearly not in his party's interest). He can point to the fact that some party called the Reform Party used to support electoral reform and, as has become customary, Harper still supports 10 per cent of things the Reform Party used to believe in (that 10 per cent is completely random and subject to change without any notice or reason).
 
5. Electoral reform has a real shot at passing in a referendum next month in British Columbia. If it passes in B.C., electoral reform will have perceived momentum and will no longer be seen by many (regardless of how unfair it may be) as a fringe issue.
 
6. It forces the Liberals to take a position on proportional representation. I will wait until the rumour plays itself into fact or fiction before discussing the conundrum it would pose for the party - but it would be significant and difficult.
 
Of course, for about 24 hours last year, we were going to have a referendum on abolishing the Senate - I can't remember how that turned out. All of this also comes with the giant caveat that we are dealing with Jack Layton - the odds are this is just an internet rumour and it will never see the light of day.