Stephen Harpers' Italian Job: The self-wacking boss

Stephen Harper wacked himself today, by declaring after a 2 hour meeting the Italian government would free-up troops to fight in Afghanistan, only to have the Italian PM refute this immediately afterwards.

It seems the Canadian PM's European vacation hasn't given him the breathing room he must have hoped for as the Bernier Affair continues to stink-up the House of Commons. That continues to offer revelations of cover-ups, suspicious contracts and feeble but photogenic Ministers of the Crown loudly declaiming any criticism, then shutting up while the Deputy PM defends his government by declaring this is all a matter of personal privacy and national security, so it can not be mentioned in the house.

Canadian affairs, both foreign and domestic, seem to be careening about with little real control. Only the Tory spin doctors seem to be functioning normally. The amateurs don't understand they are a minority, not a oligarchy, and could do with some humility. A two-seat rump worked wonders after the excesses of the Mulroney years.

More Scandals

Another scandal was the Elections Canada raid on Conservative offices that resulted from reported "in-and- outs" in campaign financing. The Tories claim it is a vendetta, although the boss of Elections Canada is a Tory appointee. This follows another case where they asked Elections Canada to ignore the rules of the Canada elections act. Needless to say, the official in question pointed out he could be charged with a felony for doing that. He said he could comply as soon as Parliament voted to change the elections act. The Tories took umbrage but could do nothing.