Oh, 2000 election. Such promise for parliamentary chaos you held back when Stockwell Day, Gilles Duceppe and Joe Clark thought that you might sentence Jean Chretien to perilous minoritydom. Thanks to the Globe and Mail archives, at least we’ll always have that draft agreement for “Consensus Leadership for a New Century” — that, and the growing realization that every nearly single official opposition leader (or his advisors) since 2000 has, at one point or another, seriously entertained the idea of being elevated to prime minister through some form of formal coalition government.
Oh, 2000 election. Such promise for parliamentary chaos you held back when Stockwell Day, Gilles Duceppe and Joe Clark thought that you might sentence Jean Chretien to perilous minoritydom. Thanks to the Globe and Mail archives, at least we’ll always have that draft agreement for “Consensus Leadership for a New Century” — that, and the growing realization that every nearly single official opposition leader (or his advisors) since 2000 has, at one point or another, seriously entertained the idea of being elevated to prime minister through some form of formal coalition government.
UPDATE: Day, for the record, denied any knowledge of the deal when confronted by an agreement-brandishing Duceppe in the House. Presumably, Gerry Chipeur was going to break it to him on election night — perhaps on the way to Calgary to pick up Joe Clark before heading off to Rideau Hall to present themselves to the Governor General. Best. Road Trip. Ever.
Meanwhile, ITQ dreams of a day when every party leader can, if they feel moved to do so, engage in, and openly admit to discussions with other parties about possible future arrangements/agreements/alliances — and even coalitions — that, in the event of another minority, could Make Parliament Work.