91原创

Matt Gurney: I think I agree that it鈥檒l last. Where we might disagree is whether it should. I understand all the arguments in favour of the 聽from the perspective of the New Democrats. They don鈥檛 have the money for a vote right now. They worry they鈥檇 get the blame if the Conservatives won big. They have influence today they might not the day after a vote. And yes, the pensions. I get it 鈥� staying in the agreement is the safe bet. But here is the thing. I once asked an old friend, a military veteran, what the most applicable lesson of military life was for civilian life. He mulled it over a bit and said, 鈥淭he other side has a plan, too.鈥� I think that鈥檚 something Jagmeet Singh and the NDP really need to be mindful of. I know all the reasons why the New Democrats would like to delay an election as long as possible. But every day they keep the Liberals in power, is another day the Liberals have to figure out how to arrange the next election on maximally favourable terms. And there鈥檚 no way that would end well for the NDP.

SD: These are all very sensible, practical things you’re saying. (We’re really going to have to get better at being contrary with each other.) But at the risk of sounding like a naive idealist, let me set down my main reason I want to see the deal continue. I like it. I like when political rivals work together. This week, we saw it when Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau held another one of their joint news conferences, to announce the big Honda deal. This has become my favourite buddy movie in Canadian politics: two guys who were once sworn enemies, getting their act together to do stuff. I think, judging by the reader data I see, that citizens also like stories of politicians doing things together, rather than just yelling across the aisle.

MG: Yeah, I like civility, too. It鈥檚 why we are here. But I also like politicians who are rational and act in their own self-interests. Not because I think their self-interests are always in the national interest, but because I know that self-interest will always prevail in the end and I鈥檓 fine cutting out the pretence of it being otherwise so that we can get straight to the point.

The Ford friendship with Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland is adorable and heartwarming, especially in These Polarized Times. But I also know that Ford can and will and has run against Trudeau to save a single seat, and the Liberals won鈥檛 hesitate to link Ford to whatever nasty thing they want to tar Pierre Poilievre with by partisan association. There is no time pressure for the Ontario premier and the prime minister to end their entente and resume sniping. I don鈥檛 think the federal NDP and the Liberals can say the same of their relationship. Sometime in the next year or two, they鈥檙e going to have a lot of zero-sum games to try to win at the other鈥檚 expense.

SD: Again, that鈥檚 practical speaking. Let me go out further on a limb here, though. I not only think the Liberal-NDP deal is good for now and into 2025, but that it could be the future of politics, and a reply to polarization. A couple of years ago, I binge-watched the TV series聽“Borgen,” a drama about Danish politics and how coalitions work there. I found myself wishing that 91原创 could be governed by some kind of coalition featuring cabinet ministers from different parties. Not only is it more exciting (if you like that sort of thing), but it is also聽an antidote for centralization. You can鈥檛 boss around a whole cabinet when some of its members are from rival parties. So yes, I wouldn鈥檛 mind seeing some kind of minority and possible coalition after the next election. I鈥檓 just not sure who Poilievre鈥檚 coalition partner(s) would be, but that鈥檚 a wholly different realm of speculation.

MG: I also don鈥檛 mind coalitions because at least the responsibility is shared along with the credit. I confess I鈥檝e never really seen the attraction for the NDP in the current agreement. The prime minister takes all the credit. The New Democrats can talk all they want about how they鈥檙e delivering results for Canadians 鈥� and I鈥檓 not even disputing that! 鈥� but they are reaping zero political rewards. The only guy who seems set to have a worse election night than Justin Trudeau is Jagmeet Singh (yes, yes, if polls hold). I feel like a jerk arguing against the virtue of your kinder, gentler way, but the reality is that we don鈥檛 have a coalition now. We have a deal that lopsidedly benefits the Liberals and an NDP leader who looks sillier every time he goes out and laments something the government is doing as if he had no ability to stop it from doing that. Fundamentally, the only way we鈥檒l get to your “Borgen” ideal is if we have a real agreement between parties, where power and success and blame and failure are truly and openly shared. This isn鈥檛 that. This is a truce of mutual necessity, and if it ends badly, we鈥檒l likely move further from your ideal.

SD: You are never a jerk, Matt. And I don’t want to cast this whole conversation as one of principle versus practical (or cynical). So I’ll end with my very practical reason for wanting the deal to continue: I don’t want an election campaign any time soon. It’s promising to be ugly and I’m in no hurry to witness that.聽