What a Difference a Day Makes

Remember when the Reform Party was first elected in 1993 - aside from lone Reform MP Deborah Grey, who has been sitting in the House since 1988? Remember all the talk about how they were going to "do politics differently"? Idealistic promises to allow for more grassroots participation soon faded amidst the realities of the parliamentary system and the need for party discipline. Eventually, the majority of Reformers even abandoned their pledge to opt-out of the MP pension program. Within a couple of years, in many respects they were just another party.

However, seven years later, the party has a new name and a new leader, who once again is determined to leave his mark on the political landscape. On his first official day, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day surprised journalists by refusing to join the traditional media scrum held in the House of Commons foyer following Question Period. Instead, the newly sworn in leader of the Official Opposition chose to hold a meeting in a conference room down the hall, where he announced his intentions to hold a daily news conference each afternoon. His reason is to allow for a more complete and thorough discussion of the issues. Media pundits, understandably, were not amused. In fact, over the next few days several began threatening to boycott the conferences, complaining that it was preventing them from having a chance to speak with other politicians. Even Joe Clark wandered into the fray, stating that Day should play by the same rules as everyone else.

Day's other initiative, to skip the Friday sitting of the House, has been met with a similar lack of enthusiasm. Day's reasoning was that no constructive work is ever done on Fridays anyway, since many members are heading home for the weekend. However, there's some thought the Prime Minister may deliberately rearrange the schedule to make Day abandon the idea of a three day weekend on Lake Okanagan.

In reality, Stockwell Day's greatest impact may have been completely unintended. Although at times Day has seemed rather uncomfortable during Question Period - much like an animal trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car - overall he has been performing fairly well. Until Monday, September 25th, that is, when he made his first real gaffe by challenging Prime Minister Chretien to either resign or call an election. Chretien, who has been itching to go to the polls, now has the perfect excuse to call a snap fall election. After all, hasn't the Opposition leader specifically requested that he do so? Which, of course, gives the Canadian Alliance less valuable time for nominating candidates, preparing policy statements, and all the other essentials that are part of gearing up for a national election.

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