fate

Most of you will already have read, before you read this, that Stéphane Dion is refusing to speak to Stephen Harper, including by phone, until after the Sept. 8 by-elections. Kory Teneycke at the PMO is telling our Globe friends, more or less, that this is the very proof of an obstreperous opposition that Harper needed. I believe things will move very quickly now. The crisis Harper manufactured, to get himself out of a “fixed”-election-date law he campaigned on, wrote and passed but never believed in, is upon him, even more quickly than he had hoped. This afternoon the temperature in the press gallery was somewhere around Sept 10 or 14 for a writ drop. Tonight CTV is reporting it could be Sept 2. You need to remember that I’m the guy who wrote on one of our comment boards only 10 days ago that Harper would never ignore his own election law, so what do I know. But tonight I believe the prime minister may move even more quickly than that. He does not like to be crossed. I am no longer sure he can conceive of an interest more elevated than making everyone understand he does not like to be crossed. A week ago I’d have said: since he has planned this week’s Tuesday-to-Thursday Arctic trip for months, nothing can happen at Rideau Hall before he returns to Ottawa on Friday. Now I’ll just say, We’ll see soon enough.