Defining Stephen Harper

Extremely good analysis of Harper's views in the Toronto Star (!) by Tom Walkom (!!): insightful, fact-based, and, on the whole, fair. You may register your astonishment here. ON THE OTHER HAND: Joe Clark, Scott Brison and Andre Bachand stick the knife in, while a bunch of other Tories, Peter MacKay among them, bleat nervously about "moderation." ON THE OTHER OTHER HAND: The Star editorial board, true to form, warns of Harper's "far-right" tax-cutting agenda. ON THE OTHER OTHER OTHER HAND: So does Ralph Goodale. ON THE OTHER OTHER OTHER OTHER HAND: There's Paul Martin's agenda, one that James Travers promises will "rekindle the fire of ideas that last fall made Liberals prohibitive favourites for a fourth consecutive majority," a "new Camelot" that "will rival the 1940 Rowell-Sirois Report in proposing radical ways to change the way the federation works." What does this "new Camelot" entail? A deal with the provinces on health care, it seems: one that Martin vows to strike via marathon, Meech-style negotiations: "I have asked to meet with the premiers this summer, not just for lunch or dinner over a weekend, but for as long as it takes to put in place a health-care system that is funded and clearly sustainable." And what is the shape of that deal? More money, natch: something everyone, including Harper, seems to have agreed upon, though we are spending a) more than we ever have, per capita, after adjusting for inflation, b) more than most other nations on earth. And this, via a shadowy Martin adviser, instantly denied by the PM himself and just as instantly forgotten by the media:

Ottawa open to revising Canada Health Act, source says The Paul Martin government is open to revising the Canada Health Act, the legislative foundation of medicare, to improve its sustainability, says a key federal source involved in charting the future of the health-care system.... The news was greeted with shock by medicare advocates, but was welcomed by Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, who has long argued for change. Asked whether the government would consider revising the act, the source said: "It's an option. We are saying the five principles will remain intact. Clarification is possible. Some have suggested adding a sixth principle . . . accountability. "But others have suggested other things, too, so we're going to look at that."

I am trying to imagine the Star's response had Harper, or anyone around him, said anything remotely similar to that. No, I can't quite manage it...