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Harper May Face Gridlock Even After Canada Vote Today
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called today's election six weeks ago, he complained that opposition calls for more spending were putting the economy at risk, and parliamentary gridlock had stymied his agenda, including longer sentences for criminals.After a campaign that saw him almost lose his lead in opinion surveys and then recover ground amid the global financial crisis, Harper may end up back where he started once the ballots are counted. Polls point to Harper beating Liberal Party rival Stephane Dion without the ruling Conservatives winning majority control of Parliament. That would put Harper at the head of Canada's third consecutive minority government in four years and leave the legislative impasse unbroken as the country grapples with its sharpest economic slowdown in at least 16 years. ``Minority governments typically lead to paralysis on the big issues,'' said Nikita Nanos, an Ottawa-based pollster. ``The government tends to deal with small items and tinker as opposed to dealing with fundamental problems.'' Posted by: Steve White 2008-10-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=252703 |