The national Liberal caucus is set to meet in Kitchener, Ont. on January 21 and 22, just ahead of the resumption of the goings-on in the House of Commons.
Liberals, no doubt, will be talking about electoral strategy. Should they push for an election this year? This spring? If so, on what issue? And even if they wanted to go, how do they push the government over? Personally, I think that, no matter what Stephane Dion says, this Parliament will get to its fixed election date in October, 2009. It all has to do with the algebra of the seat breakdown in the House of Commons. All the government needs is the support of any one opposition party. And that means all three opposition parties have to agree to force the Conservatives out. That seems like a tall order right now. During the first two years of this government, there has always been at least one opposition party that did not want an election. For a long time, that was the Liberals. Now, even if the Liberals started clamouring this spring for an election, the general feeling is that the Bloc Quebecois is a little gunshy and would look for a way out of an election this spring.