The Lust For Power

Harper's lust for power has long worried me. Lust is one of the so-called seven deadly sins, and for good reason - as it completely distorts an individual's judgment.

This past week's posturing is particularly revolting in this regard. Harper has been strutting about calling the current Parliament 'dysfunctional' and trying to pin the blame upon the opposition parties. While I can hardly call the opposition in this parliament effective, I'd say that they have been far more cooperative with Mr. Harper than Mr. Harper was when he was the leader of the opposition.

Mr. Harper's statements about Bill C-16, the 'fixed election dates' amendment smack of dishonesty. He is playing exactly the games today that he complained about so bitterly back then. Why? Because he lusts after a more absolute degree of power. As long as he heads a minority, he knows that sooner or later his government is likely to be brought down by the opposition.

Why the lusting? I suspect that in Harper's mind, and those of his advisors, that there is but one goal - to gain the kind of control over parliament that will allow them to ram bills through that the Conservatives can only support at the moment as private member's bills.

Consider the voting patterns of Mr. Harper:

Bill C-484: In Favour
(This is Mr. Epp's odious little piece of legislation)

I think it is quite significant that Mr. Epp's little piece of legislative experimentation got as far as it has. A quick glance through the list of Private Member's bills before the house shows that it is one of a handful to move beyond first reading since introduction.

Harper has quietly allowed this little play to the social conservative "base" of his support to fester in the order paper as a way of signalling to the social conservatives what his agenda really is.

It's not like we haven't had plenty of other signals from the Harper government - it's amazing how their funding cuts always seem to go after minorities, women and the arts, meanwhile they mysteriously seem to think that there's an infinite pile of money for their latest he-man military expenditures.

When Mr. Harper can't even abide by his own fixed election date law, you have to know that his word is of limited value. I shudder to think about what he might do if given a majority government.