Pulling an all nighter!

Like University students cramming for their mid terms, the four leaders of the main Canadian political parties are spending the weekend working out their debating points, getting the jitters out of the way and finding just the right shade of make up, not Casper the ghost white and not Richard Nixon ex con stubble.

Monday and Tuesday nights the party leaders will gather at the National Arts Centre to put their case to the people of the nation, or in Gilles Duceppe’s case the people of “his nation”. Details have been hammered out down to the fine points of when one’s car should arrive at the door and where do you find a bottle of water.

The debates loom large for the four as this campaign winds its way down to the finish line on June 28th. For Paul Martin who has seen his early popularity ratings of last November vanish under the weight of voter discontent, the debates may be his last good chance to re focus the Liberal campaign on the positives he spoke of at the Convention in November. For far too much of this campaign the Liberals have been on the defensive mainly due to the fallout over the sponsorship scandal, a sense of heavy handedness from the Prime Minister’s handlers and lately the use of overly negative advertising spots that have turned the campaign into an even nastier contest than it was heading towards short weeks ago. Monday and Tuesday, Paul Martin gets the chance to reweave those great expectations left in Toronto, when Bono praised Canada for it’s international commitments, when Martin recounted what he believed Liberalism stood for. We haven’t heard much of those lofty ideals thus far, instead just a sense of a Liberal party refusing to come to terms with the idea that the public may actually turn its back on them. Should the Prime Minister continue with the scare campaign, the final two weeks will most likely find the voter expressing distaste for the lack of vision.

When Stephen Harper has the red light of the camera focused on him, he will have to reassure Canadians that he is not Satan’s apprentice, waiting to lure us all to the dark side. Should he be able to keep the debate on track about accountability, waste in government and new priorities and ways to achieve them, he will have a successful two nights. If he stumbles and displays any sense of intolerance, mean spiritedness or sacrifice a small animal on the dais, then all will be lost for the Conservative wave. He will make some entreaties to Quebec, urge them to consider a Conservative candidate, a noble attempt at what most likely will not translate into many votes. But as long as he appears rational and even handed the perception of him being a wide eyed, raving anglo won't be splashed on the front pages of Le Devoir and le journal du Montreal, come Wednesday morning.

Jack Layton will have to make a hard decision prior to air time, should he attack only the Conservative agenda, not so much as to lure Conservative voters to his side but more to show disgruntled Liberals that they have a choice. If they want to voice their protest this election, it would be a safer parking spot with Jack.

There really is no danger of the NDP forming a federal government in this election, but there is the possibility of it being able to control the legislative agenda for a minority government. That will more than likely come with a Paul Martin minority government, for the NDP attacking the Martin forces may not be in their best long term interest this time around. Perhaps that is why we haven’t heard so much about Bermudan shipping lines and other such early NDP talking points. Any potential partnership is going to go a lot smoother for the NDP if they turn their big sticks on Stephen Harper, but it could come at a cost, making the Conservatives into Barbarians ready to ransack the peaceful land may scare NDP votes into the Liberal camp . Perhaps its best that they leave that dirty work to the increasingly desperate Liberals, for the NDP keeping the middle ground and showing just new ideas may be enough to lure the parked votes on June 28th.

For Gilles Duceppe the task is simple keep the heat on the Liberals. The sponsorship scandal has been a gold mine for the Blocquistes, as Quebecers feel a bit persecuted due to the machinations of the Liberal party and its patronage outrages in the last four years. With the Bloc never having to worry about doling out the goodies in the current federal arrangement, they can walk on the side of the angels in this debate. Duceppe will also appeal to a sense of circling the wagons in Quebec, not likely to turn to the NDP and wary of Stephen Harper and his new hybrid Conservative party there really is nowhere for the voter to go in Quebec. Knowing full well that a noisy Bloc Quebecois may be just as effective as a truckload of possibly out of power backbench Liberals, the Quebecois voter is poised to give Duceppe his largest mandate ever. He’ll spend his practice days making sure he doesn’t do or say anything to scare that potentially powerful force away.

The mid term exams will be over by Tuesday night at 10, and then it’s a mad dash to the finish line at the end of the month. In this semester the mid term is going to have a lot more weight on the final mark than possibly that final exam.

Should one or more leader flunk the mid term, there may not be any hope for finals. Cram, cram, cram and put on a pot of coffee, its best to get your facts straight gents and tone downt he rhetoric, your entire campaign may depend on it.