Chretien, Broadbent brokering possible coalition
52 minutes ago
By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien and one-time NDP leader Ed Broadbent met on Parliament Hill on Friday to discuss the possibility of a coalition government.
A senior NDP official told The Canadian Press the talks began Thursday soon after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered an economic update that threatened to bankrupt the opposition parties.
The official said NDP Leader Jack Layton asked Broadbent to call Chretien with the idea that the two elder statesmen could finesse a deal to defeat the minority Conservative government and form a coalition with support from the Bloc Quebecois.
The NDP and the Liberals together don't command a majority of the Commons seats.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says the two former leaders spoke at least four times.
The opposition parties all say Flaherty's mini-budget, which puts strict limits on federal spending, bans public-sector strikes through 2011, and denies federal parties $30 million in annual funding, is ideologically driven and offers no stimulus package to deal with the economic crisis.
It also contains a potentially lethal poison pill - a vow to scrap public subsidies for political parties that would financially cripple every party except the Tories.
Flaherty insisted the party financing changes are part of the fiscal framework and will be considered a matter of confidence in the Commons. He said an accompanying bill will be put to a vote Monday.
The government's hard line set off another round of political chicken just five weeks after the Oct. 14 election returned Prime Minister Stephen Harper to power with a strengthened minority
The Liberals are taking the prospect of a coalition so seriously that some MPs are privately discussing ways to dump Stephane Dion as leader without waiting for their party's scheduled May 2 leadership vote.
Copyright © 2008 Canadian Press
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