Is Canada a nation of political strategists?

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Alec Bruce

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Does nothing stick to this government?

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In a week that might otherwise topple a ruling party, Stephen Harper's Conservatives continue to enjoy a comfortable lead in public opinion. Indeed, they now flirt with majority territory, to the chagrin of the opposition Liberals and New Democrats. "Why me?" grumbles the visibly perplexed Michael Ignatieff and his unwilling sidekick Jack Layton.

It is curious, given recent events.

First, Canadian Press reveals, the Tories spent $108,000 of taxpayers' money on a dog and pony show in Saint John, ostensibly to inform Canadians of their progress on delivering the economic stimulus program. In fact, the so-called town hall meeting was nothing more than an orchestrated photo op for Conservative loyalists. No Grits or NDippers allowed.

Next, as the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports, a disproportionate amount of stimulus money has ventured into the closely-held bastions of Tory influence in Nova Scotia: As much as twice the money has been earmarked for sparsely populated Conservative ridings as for more demographically crowded Liberal constituencies.

Finally, there's the "code blue" fiasco in which a Tory MP was photographed bearing a promotional prop that displayed the party's wordmark in place of the Government of Canada logo, suggesting there was no distinction between partisan interests and a democratically elected assembly.

Through it all, Mr. Harper and his apologists merely smiled and reminded Canadians "" of every ideological stripe "" that this government was far too busy conducting the people's business at a time of economic emergency to worry about the petty complaints of some parliamentarians (that includes you, Iggy) who have yet to demonstrate they possess the wherewithal to lead.

And, to a remarkable degree, Canadians have bought it.

The Loyal Opposition will have another chance to topple their enemies when the government tables a new crime bill later this week. But the chances of this are slim to none. The public's appetite for an election has not improved since the Liberals removed its support for Harper "" over his handling of the economy "" a few weeks ago.

All of which raises a question: Is there any substantive difference, these days, between a minority and a majority government?

Constitutional experts will tell you that minority regimes are inherently unstable. With precious few exceptions, the baker's dozen of such governments over the course of the nation's history have yielded partisan bickering, not better or more collaborative leadership. But Canadians in the breaking years of the 21st Century are magnificently armed with communications and research tools that render them more sophisticated than their forebears. The rise of social media, 24/7 news coverage, and nearly incessant public opinion polling have given them a bird's eye view in the operations of their own minds. In effect, the country has become a nation of political strategists.

This is, perhaps, the inevitable democratization of skills once preserved and protected by the chattering class. Still, the results seem clear: Minority governments are only unstable inasmuch as everyday folks limit their engagement in the political process to their occasional trips to the polling station; today, everyday folks are constantly checking the balance of power and manipulating its administration by registering their likes and dislikes between elections.

For Harper, this is good news, at least for now. There's very little he can do to earn the opprobrium of his fellow citizens "" short of curtailing basic civil rights and utterly bungling the country's economic progress. He remains in minority precisely because most Canadians prefer it this way. And he knows it.

For Ignatieff and Layton, the road ahead is much rockier. They must prove they know something about the reigning Conservatives that most citizens do not. And this "something" must be sufficiently shocking, egregious and despicable to force a sea change of opinion. But in the YouTube-Facebook-Twitter age, finding and deploying the appropriate shock factor is getting tougher and tougher to do.

If nothing sticks to this government, it's only because our expectations of propriety, excellence and vision in the political process have, themselves, become unglued.

Alec Bruce is a Moncton-based writer. He may be reached via www.thebrucereport.com.