Wow what a week!

Last weekend, Parliament was in a juggernaut brought to its knees by a coalition of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois Party of Quebec-separation.

By Monday Stephen Harper was having second thoughts about bringing down the Government before the budget vote on Thursday May 19th and I was set to write a column about Canada’s media and how its views in respect to the Government had changed so much over the last 18 months.

Remember how pleased the media was with Paul Martin’s ascendancy to power and the departure of Jean Chrétien.

That was before the Auditor General made the Quebec sponsorship scandal a national soap-opera. We went through an election fighting the ghosts of sponsorship to find at the end of it a public that was willing to suspend its decision on the matter of guilt and punishment until they heard the full story.

The Gomery Commission unleashed months of testimony that seemed to indite a large number of Quebec Liberals. Members of the media began daily feedings from the Gomery trough, driving themselves into a frenzy and passing judgment on witnesses before they were convicted. Quebecers were mesmerized. The Conservatives smelled blood and jumped at the opportunity to join forces with the Bloc Quebecois.

The media ignored this obvious breach of national etiquette and quietly anointed Stephen Harper as its next Prime Minister. Macleans Magazine did a cover story on “The Real Stephen Harper. “He’s known as icy and inflexible.

Up close, he’s anything but”. The Globe & Mail softened its view of Harper and moved towards the views of its anti-government columnists John Ibbitson and Margaret Wente. The Toronto Star’s syndicated columnist Chantel Hebert salivated at the prospect of a Martin defeat as did editorialists in western Canada.

Here in New Brunswick, the Times & Transcript demanded we “throw the bums out” (referring of course to the Liberals) and pronounced them ‘guilty’ before Judge Gomery could weigh the evidence and delivers his verdict. Last week a procedural vote in the House of Commons was characterized as a “confidence vote”. It was not. Under the rules and traditions of Parliament, it was a procedural vote but many in the media ignored that reality in their attempt to convert perception into fact.

On Tuesday, Belinda Stronach dumped everyone on their ear by announcing that she was leaving the Conservatives to join the Liberal government. Her reasons were clear and simple.

She could no longer tolerate the Conservatives’ partnership with the Bloc Quebecois. She was concerned about the consequences of an early election in Quebec. She was concerned that Stephen Harper would renege on his earlier promise to support the Federal Budget as the smell of blood (read power) propelled him towards an anti-Budget vote that would defeat the Government.

She acknowledged that her views on same sex marriage, abortion and other social issues were closer to the Liberals than the Conservatives, implicitly suggesting there was no room in the new Conservative Party for people with progressive or differing views.

Belinda’s move appears gutsy and principled. She didn’t walk into a safe and secure environment. The Government could fall within weeks. Her re-election as a Liberal is far from assured. The bitterness of her former colleagues will be felt for months if not years, particularly if her move changes the longer term dynamics of Parliament in such a way as to breathe new life into the Liberals.

If she is re-elected as a Liberal, she could become a dark-horse candidate to succeed Paul Martin. Wouldn’t that be ironic?

Wednesday morning, we took a break from Ottawa to learn that provincial Liberals in British Columbia had been re-elected, albeit by a reduced majority, a testament to the rewards of early tough-love and fiscal responsibility.

On Thursday, it was back to Ottawa and Budget day. There were two votes. The first was easily won by the Government 250 to 54. The second was a little closer 152 to 152 with the Speaker breaking the tie in favour of the Government.

The Canadian dollar moved up by 0.03¢ in expectation of a Liberal win. Gilles Duceppe promised to continue fighting to bring down the Canadian Government. Jack Layton was ecstatic that his budget amendments were adopted. Stephen Harper called for a renewed partnership with the Bloc to bring down the Government.

My reaction to the Budget vote was one of relief. I’m tired of the noise in Ottawa. I’m concerned that the preoccupation with power, the pursuit of power and the retention of power has become more important to politicians than the public good. I’m concerned by the trending of Canada’s media towards tabloid journalism.

I’m relieved to know that my summer may be election-free. Thank you Mr. Cadman and thank you Ms. Stronach.

By chance, I was in Riverview Thursday evening with a small group (75 or 80 people) of large ‘C’ and small ‘c’ conservatives when the vote results were announced. The group cheered the outcome. They didn’t want an election. Like Premier Williams in Newfoundland, they wanted the Budget to pass. It seems the people have more sense than the media.

In a side discussion at the same gathering, I heard people voice their criticism of the vitriolic response to Belinda Stronach’s move and the sexist characterizations of her decision. They were concerned about the Bloc Quebecois’ rise in popularity and the prospect of a Bloc sweep in Quebec.

Unlike the media, they are prepared to wait for results of the Gomery Commission before deciding the future of Canada’s Federal Government. They’re not thrilled with the idea of Stephen Harper as Prime Minister.

They remember his statements about Maritimers on the dole.