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| 2011-06-01 Stong, Stable, National Majority Government | | | Camapaigns & Elections Magazine (Canada) Digital Editon
Published: June 2011 Strong, Stable, National Majority Government The 41st Parliament has begun its work with the majority Conservative government assured of getting its agenda through the House of Commons and Senate for the next four years. Meanwhile, what would have been considered hallucinogenic back on March 25th – the day the 40th Parliament dissolved – is now reality; the NDP form the Official Opposition, the Liberals are the third party and the Bloc Quebecois lost official party status.Since May 2nd, much of the conjecture about what’s next has been pedestrian at best. Facile suggestions of a hidden-agenda or a domineering PMO poised to run roughshod over the bureaucracy, the provinces et al are ludicrous in the extreme. When Stephen Harper needed social conservatives the most – their numbers and organization – during the 2004 Conservative Party leadership race, he promised them nothing yet he still won. And in the last five years as Prime Minister, he has learned that governing Canada is about finding the shifting middle between East and West, French and English, urban and rural, and ideological and pragmatic. There is no hidden agenda … there never was!As for the PMO morphing into a politburo complete with a gosplan apparatus, this runs counter to the next phase of the Economic Action Plan (where business and industry must drive growth, not government) and paring back the federal bureaucracy to eliminate the deficit.Sadly, most analysts have failed to ask three key machinery of government questions whose answers will foreshadow the prospects for Conservative re-election or defeat in the 42nd General Election.Question 1: Will the Conservatives make a majority Parliament meaningful?
With their legislative agenda guaranteed to pass, the Tories must avoid becoming smug or dismissive of opposition suggestions lest they be perceived as aloof or arrogant. Indeed, this is the challenge for all majority governments. Ironically, they may be helped by Jack Layton returning to reality if he dumps his post-election musings about having earned a mandate to co-govern the country after the NDP’s historic showing. In turn, the Tories will need to ensure that House of Commons committees can actually propose meaningful amendments to legislation since no government or Bill is perfect. Moreover, MPs need to live up to their promises of better decorum as opposed to the theatre of using parliamentary immunity to defame opponents that was often the norm rather than the exception for the last seven years. Thankfully, with over 100 rookies and a youth movement in the green chamber, there is cause for optimism on this point.Question 2: Will the Conservatives allow/enable the federal bureaucracy to fully play its role?
Most politicians, regardless of partisan stripe, will boast of the calibre of our non-partisan public service and its critical role to design and deliver policy, programs and services in our system of government. For the past seven years of minority governments, the depth and talent of our public service has been woefully underutilized as successive governments were caught in the vortex of 12-week parliamentary sessions. The short-term was now, mid-term was an hour from now, and long-term was a day from now.Transformative projects like replacing legacy IT systems and major defence procurements or federal-provincial efforts to modernize health care or pension regimes – where public servants always shoulder the load – did not occur. Discipline and urgency on these files must now permeate the whole of government.And the Prime Minster and the Clerk of the Privy Council must set this tone for all Deputy Ministers to ensure that fearless advice and truth-to-power counsel from the bureaucracy is not only welcome, but expected at every turn. By the same token, once decisions have been taken by the Government; loyal, effective and expeditious implementation by our professional public service must occur. This will be all the more important given the difficult decisions ahead to eliminate the federal deficit.Question 3: Will the political apparatus supporting Ministers emerge from the bunker of its minority siege mentality?
As a consultant lobbyist, I observe and interact with political staff and senior officials on a weekly basis. The challenge for Ministerial staff is to transition from the 12-week minority mindset to build their schedules for a more measured pace of learning files, engaging more stakeholders and taking time to think. For five years, I’ve watched several friends burn themselves out and sacrifice their health to the 14-hour day, 7-day a week grind to support their Minister. Their BlackBerries were “on” at 2am, just in case! Here again, the Prime Minister can set the tone for his own staff, and Ministers in turn must insist that their support teams are expected to read, respond, reflect and relax when possible.Majority governments are most successful if they adopt a marathon mindset as opposed to an all-out sprint. Let the long race pacing begin. | | |
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