Revenge of the Small

The Liberals’ budget deal with Jack Layton could be seen through the same prism. In old-think, the deal was no more than a desperate attempt by the governing party to survive, which may be true. But that compromise also increased funding for housing, education, and foreign aid, areas that enjoy broad public support. And shouldn’t the Liberals, who received just 37 percent of the vote in the 2004 election, be expected to compromise? Getting the support of the ndp, who won 16 percent of last year’s vote, meant the Liberals had cobbled together a majority not only in parliament but also, in a sense, in the country. When Chrétien won a majority in parliament in 1997 with just 39 percent of the vote, he had no need to compromise and he didn’t.

Minority governments aren’t perfect. They will not, for example, eliminate the threat of separatism. But the Bloc’s new potency in Ottawa is subtly weakening the sovereigntists’ case by increasing Quebecers’ ability to have their voices heard within the system. And if the separatists lose another referendum, Bloc MPs may increasingly be tempted into the federalist camp by the attraction of wielding power, just like Stronach. Or like Bouchard, who took the “beau risque” of joining Brian Mulroney’s Tories. Bouchard ultimately returned to the separatist fold, but another Bloc co-founder, Jean Lapierre, now sits in Martin’s cabinet.

Others will argue that in a minority system larger parties can sometimes become slaves to the smaller parties that sustain them, giving obscure sectional interests a clout that’s disproportionate to their numbers in the population. But there’s a solution to that too. If the public objects to political small fry playing too major a role, the parties that once sought majorities might start to think what was unthinkable in the old model—a Liberal-Conservative coalition. After all, on many economic and fiscal policies the two parties broadly agree. Stephen Harper may never be prime minister, but he could be minister of finance. That might even put a smile on his face, proving that minority governments can sometimes succeed where all else failed.