From: "John Beamish" 

A Lib/NDP coalition makes eminent sense and is generally a foregone
conclusion based on history.

I simply cannot see the BQ and the new Conservatives aligning on much.  The
BQ is a left-of-centre party and the Conservatives are a right-of-centre
party and that alone argues against an alignment.

The Conservatives have come from a "merger" of the Alliance and
the old Progressive Conservative party (really a takeover of the PCs by the
Alliance) so their core support comes from former Alliance members which
makes the new Conservative party basically a western alienation party.
While it is true that the BQ are a Quebec alienation party, the western
alienation is "stop ignoring our interests" while the Quebec
alienation has been "stop ignoring our destiny".

The leader of the BQ has said his support for any other party will be on an
issue by issue basis, but that's simply codespeak for "we won't defeat
the government; we'll let somebody else get the blame for that".

That's a long, roundabout answer.  The short one:  there's no way short of
hell freezing over that the Conservatives would have tried to form an
alliance with the BQ.

The BQ are perceived in the provinces-other-than-Quebec (commonly referred
to as "the ROC" -- "the Rest Of Canada") as a party
whose sole interest is in seceding.  Any alliance with them would have been
drinking from a poisoned chalice.  It would have been a case of getting
power today at the cost of never having power again.

For the mathematically inclined:
Liberal: 135;  Conservative: 99;  Bloc Quebecois: 54;  NDP: 19;  Oth: 1

Total:  308
Needed for majority 155.

Lib+NDP = 154; Con+BQ=153.


"Gene McAloon"  wrote in message >
> In reference to that, a LIberal/NDP coalition makes sense and is what will
> happen. If the Conservatives had won, it was expected they would form a
> coalition with the Bloc. Does that make any sense and how long would that
have
> held together?
> >
> >A final comment:  our MP is Carolyn Parrish.   She probably doesn't many
> >Christmas cards from Americans.
> >
> >"Gene McAloon"  wrote in message
> >news:t383e0l1t13lant58jr9q201vsf2f3g6nu{at}4ax.com...
> >> I see that Canada at least has renewed my faith in the sensibility of
> >voters in
> >> giving a big victory to the Liberals. It will still be a minority
> >government,
> >> but not by the slim margin all the pollsters predicted. It is really
> >incredible
> >> how very wrong they all were.
> >>
> >> Harper, the Bush clone, can now fade back into the obscurity from which
he
> >> emerged and so richly deserved. Thank you, Canada.
> >>
> >
>

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