prime minister harper works to entrench a conservative majority coalition in the country…on behalf...

8/6/2019 Prime Minister Harper Works to Entrench a Conservative Majority Coalition in the CountryOn Behalf of What Class?

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PrimeMinisterHarperWorkstoEntrenchaConservativeMajorityCoalitionintheCountryOnBehalfofWhatClass?

DonCurrie,ChairCanadiansforPeaceandSocialismAugust5,2011

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca


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Peoplealwayshavebeenthefoolishvictimsofdeceptionandselfdeception in

politics,andtheyalwayswillbeuntiltheyhavelearnttoseekouttheinterestsof

someclassorotherbehindallmoral,religious,politicalphrases,declarationsand

promises.

V.I.LeninCollectedWorks,Vol.19p.28

PrimeMinisterStephenHarperinanextensiveinterviewwithMacLeansMagazineonJuly11

2011said:

What

I

want

to

do,

of

course

is

really

to

entrench,

over

time,

a

Conservative

majoritycoalitioninthecountry.

Not that longagothePrimeMinisterangrilydenouncedandcondemnedanNDP Liberal

Bloccoalition,aclearParliamentarymajorityatthetimerepresentingananticonservative

consensus in the country . Faced with the threat of a parliamentary defeat the Prime

MinisterrelyingsolelyonanarchaicfeudalremnantintheCanadianconstitutionlockedthe

doorsofParliamentagainsttheelectedrepresentativesofthemajorityofCanadians.

NowMr.Harperworksforanentrenchedmajorityrightwingcoalitioninthecountry.

TheconservativemajoritycoalitionthatMr.Harperhas inmindcantbeacoalitionofright

wingparties.ThatphaseofPrimeMinisterHarperspoliticalschemingandmaneuvering is

over. Of those events Harper candidly told MacLeans that the Reform Alliance

Conservativemergerwas pragmatic, a base to reach out and reinvigorate conservative

principles.

What about the far right? While never repudiating the faith based rightwing extremist

supporters exposed and documented in Marci McDonalds trenchant work, The

ArmageddonFactor,andnowwiththeirheroStockwellDayhavingleftthefieldforearthly

rewards, the conservative back room quietly shelters these zealots as useful andwilling

electoral infantry. Such forces, unabashed by the tragic events in Norway, remain an

unrepentant far right extremist faction in the conservative column including MacLeans

columnistMarcSteynalongwithEzraLevantandotheracolytesofthefarright.

NorcanthePrimeMinistersentrenchedrightwingcoalitionbeamergeroftheLiberaland

Conservativeparties. Suchacoalitioncanneverbeexcluded ifcorporatedominanceover

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca HarperWorkstoEntrenchaConservativeMajorityCoalition Page2of7


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Parliamentisthreatened. Howeverasmattersstandnowtheliberals,reducedtoarumpin

thelastfederalelection,arefracturedintorightandleftbowers. Therightbower,theBay

St. corporatists quietly shifted support in the last election to support a conservative

parliamentarymajority. Thesociallyconscious liberalsclingwithhopetoBobRae interim

parliamentary leader attempting to upstage the legitimate social democratic NDP

parliamentaryopposition.

Meredaysafter the forcedabsenceof theNDP Leader JackLayton,Rae joinedwith the

PrimeMinisterHarper ina sordidattackonNDP interim leaderNycoleTurmel, respected

formervicepresidentofthePublicServiceAllianceofCanada(PSAC)forhavingoncehelda

membership in theBlocandbeinga supporterofSolidaireaQuebec labourpartywitha

socialistprogram. The jointconservativeliberalattackonTurmel isreallyanattackonthe

growingroleoforganizedlabourinNDPparliamentarypolitics. PSACislockedinapension

battlewithFinanceMinisterJimFlahertyandbracingforfederalgovernmentcutsinthecivil

service. Turmelisbeingattackedbythecombinedrightwingbecauseshecomesfromthe

workingclassandspeaksfororganizedlabour.

Sowhatkindofentrenchedconservativecoalitiondoes thePrimeMinisterhave inmind?

Whatadditionalrightwinggroupsandfactionsdoeshestrivetobringintohiscoalitionthat

hedoesntalreadyhaveunderhiscommand? Whatisitsprogramandwherewouldsuchan

entrenchedrightwingcoalitionleadthecountry?

Mr.Harper chooseshiswords carefully. ThePrimeMinister is adept atunderstatinghis

intentions. However itwouldbeamistakenot topaycloseattention towhathiswords

imply. What thePrimeMinister said toMacLeanswas thatovertimehe isdriving foran

entrenchedConservativemajoritycoalition inthecountry(ouremphasisDC). Hedidnt

say a larger conservative Parliamentary federal majority than the one he now leads in

Parliament. HisvisionforCanadaisanentrenchedconservativecoalitionthatgoesbeyond

parliamenttoembracethewholecountry.

AsFocussaidinitspostelectionanalysisPrimeMinisterHarperhasneverbeeninterestedin

winning the majority of Canadians for his right wing conservative agenda. The Prime

Minister is astuteenough to know thathe cantdo itby rationalediscourse. ThePrime

Ministerknowsfullwellthecountry issplitandmajoritypublicopinionconsistentlyrejects

the right wing conservative program of austerity for the working people, for profit

privatization of public assets and gradual abandonment and erosion by underfunding of

publichealthcare,theCBC,andallprogramsthat infactarehardwonentitlementsofthe


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Canadianpeoplebasedontheprincipleofuniversalityandwillinglypaidforbythemajority

outoftaxesontheirearnings.

ThelastfederalbudgetandthenextonenowbeingcreatedinsecrettalksbetweenFinance

Minister Flaherty and his corporate advisors, embody the IMF principles that requireG7

states to enact budget austerity for the people and complete freedom of action for

domestic and international finance capital that includesunrestricted access to thepublic

treasurymasqueradingaspublicprivateenterprise.

IMF,WorldBankorthodoxyrequiresthatallG7statesreducethepeoplessovereigntyover

theirownresources,theresultsoftheirownlabourandrelinquishanyclaimtoparticipatein

determiningtheeconomicfutureoftheirrespectivecountries. Thatroleistobeexclusively

in the hands of international state monopoly capitalism. The working class has been

assigned the role ofworking longer, harder for less. This is the IMFmantra that Prime

MinisterHarper,hisinnercircleofministers,FinanceMinisterJimFlaherty,DefenseMinister

Peter McKay, Foreign Minister John Baird and Immigration Minister Jason Kenny have

agreedtoimposeontheworkingpeopleofCanada.

G7 IMFbudgetsrequirememberstateswithoutexception tomaintainhigh levelsofarms

spending and contribute fixed amounts of GDP to fund NATO about which the Prime

Ministerisunapologetic. Acknowledgingbutdeliberatelyunderstatingpublicoppositionto

CanadianparticipationinUSEUNATOwarsofaggressioninIraq,AfghanistanandnowLibya

thePrimeMinisterdefendsreinvestinginthemilitarycarefullysidesteppingadiscussionof

substancebysimplysaying,Ifyoudonthavethecapacitytoactyourenottakenseriously

unlessyoucancontributetosolutions.

ThePrimeMinistertoldMacLeansthatheenvisionsgreatconflictsandthreatsconfronting

CanadaThemostobviousisterrorism,Islamicextremistterrorism. Weknowthatsabig

oneglobally.

ThePrimeMinisters statementwaspublishedbyMacLeans 11daysbefore aNorwegian

citizen

bombed

government

buildings

in

Oslo

and

murdered

76

men,

women

and

youth

claiminghewasatwaragainstMarxistIslamicthreatstoEuropeancivilization.

InanswertotheMacLeansquestionyousaidthat,essentially,Canadaneedstoredefine

itsnationalpurpose thePrimeMinister responded:sincecoming tooffice in fact

sincebecomingprimeministerthethingthatsprobablystruckmethemostintermsofmy

previousexpectations Idontevenknowwhatmyexpectationswere isnot justhow


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importantforeignaffairs/foreignrelationsis,butinfactthatitsbecomealmosteverything.

Theres hardly anything today of any significance that doesnt have a huge international

dimensiontoit,beginningfirstandforemostwiththeeconomy.

ThatPrimeMinisterialdisingenuousepiphany isa restatementofhis longheld simplistic

versionof20thcenturyevents. ThePrimeMinistermakes the remarkable statement that

Canadanexttoitsbigthreeallies(unnamed)playedoneofthelargestrolesintheworld

inthedefeatoffascism. BourgeoishistoriansrefertothesupportgiventoBritainatthe

outbreakofWW2bytheCommonwealthstates,Canada,AustraliaandSouthAfricaasthe

BigThree. HowevertheBigThreealliancethatultimatelydefeatedtheHitlerNaziswas

theSovietUnion,theUnitedStatesandBritainwithinwhichtheUSSRplayedthedecisive

role. TheCanadianpeoplemadesignificantcontributions to thatalliance in thedefeatof

HitlerhoweverPrimeMinisterHarperssuperficialreadingofhistoryisnotaboutthatreality,

it is the standardhistorical revisionismof antiSoviethistoriansengaged inattempting to

diminishthedecisiveroleplayedbytheUSSR,theRedArmyandtheSovietpeople inthe

defeatofHitler.

Focus dealtwith that on theoccasionof the60thAnniversary of the endofWW2. CPS

pointed out in that analysis that the purpose of the attempt of antiSoviet historians to

demonizeStalinanddiminishtheroleoftheUSSRintheWW2defeatofHitlerwastocover

uppostwarimperialismscrimesandresponsibilityforthenucleararmsrace.

The 60% ofCanadians that voted against the rightwing conservatives in the last federal

election cantbepartofPrimeMinisterHarpers conceptof an entrenched conservative

majority coalition in the country and it isunlikely thathehas any illusions about the4.5

million that voted for the NDP to become the official opposition skipping to the

conservativesinthenextelection.

ThecoalitionthePrimeMinisteralludestoissomethingquitedifferent.

Coalitions imply a temporary alliance among different political parties for short term

common

interests.

Prime

Minister

Harper

speaks

of

an

entrenched

Conservative

coalition

implying a long term alliance. Such a coalition is not about short term broad consensus

majoritiesunitedaroundshorttermgoals.

TheentrenchedcoalitionthatthePrimeMinisteralludestoisaboutunitingminorities,elitist

rightistminoritiesthatsharethesameeconomicinterestandpoliticalclassviewpoint. The

coalition the Prime Minister has in mind is a minority coalition set against the popular


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majoritythat isopposedto it. Insuchacoalitionthere isnoroomforthe interestsofthe

majority of Canadians who must work for a living to survive and who have nothing in

commonwithwealthyparasiticalelitistminorities.

Prime Minister Harper has been and remains primarily interested in political executive

power,backedbyaregimentedparliamentarymajority,wherehecanautocraticallymanage

andlegislateregardlessifhehastheapprovalofthemajorityofthepeopleornot. Thelogic

ofhistalkaboutanentrenchedconservativecoalitionisnothingmorethananappealtothe

mostpowerfulcorporateelites inthecountrytocontinuetoprovidehisgovernmentwith

thefinancialandpoliticalsupportrequiredtoentrenchtheirseparateinteresteverywherein

thecountry.

Prime Minister Harpers entrenched conservative coalition is nothing more than a

declarationofhisgovernmentswillingnesstoworkinthelongtermonbehalfofcorporate

power and todo itsbidding. StephenHarper represents all those interests that seek to

entrenchandmakepermanent thepowerof financecapitalovergovernmentand touse

thatpowertoimposeitsclassinterestsonthepeople.

ThePrimeMinistertoldMacLeanshedoesnotfavourtheconceptofabigtentconservative

partythatwouldembracethemajority. That isnotsurprisingbecause ifhedidthePrime

MinisterwouldhavetotakethemajorityviewpointofCanadians intoaccount. ThePrime

MinisterrejectsanysuggestionthattheConservativepartyadjustitspoliciestocomecloser

tothestandpointofthemajorityofCanadians. Quitetheopposite! Thepeoplemustcome

toconservatism. Conservatismhasnointentionofgoingtothepeople. ThePrimeMinister

exhibiting his trademark sense of fervent leadership infallibility simply asserts that

Canadiansarecomingclosertoconservativeprinciplesandvalues. MacLeansfailedtoask

whatthoseconservativeprinciplesandvalueswerethatareclosertoCanadianslongterm

values.

Whatareconservative long termvalues? Utteringwhat soundssuspiciously likeaDimitri

Soudasinfomercial,thePrimeMinisterwithoutatraceofembarrassmentsaid:Ithinkyou

have to take the triumvirate: the courageouswarrior, compassionateneighbor, confident

partner.

HowdothesebreathlessPrimeMinisterialwordssquarewithreality?

TheHarperconservativescampaignedinthelastelectionforreducedtaxesoncorporations,

increasedarmsspending,acceleratedprivatizationofpublicassets,federalbudgetausterity


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forthepeopleandunrestrictedmarketdrivenprivate investmentstrategies forthebanks

and big foreign and domestic investor interests coveting Canadas energy and mineral

resources. TheHarpergovernmentpromotedCanadianparticipationinaggressiveUSNATO

wars of regime change. The conservatives defended uncritical support for Israeli

government and its violent suppression of the Palestinian people. The Conservative

governmentnegotiateda free tradeagreementwith theantilabour repressive regimeof

Columbia and vowed to promote aNAFTA style free trade agreementwith the EU that

would open Canadian public services to private foreign investors. The conservative

government is in collusion with big foreign and domestic energy interests to sellout

Canadasfutureenergyneeds. Thegovernmenthascommittedtospendingacombined$60

billionover20yearsonthemilitaryatatimewhenpublicinfrastructureiscrumbling;health

careneeds,lowcosthousingandjobsfortheyouthareunmet.

TherightwingentrenchedconservativecoalitionaboutwhichthePrimeMinisterspeaks is

thecoalitionof theelitesofwealthandprivilege thatarecontent tosacrifice theall side

developmentofCanadaforitspeople,foramassiveprofittakingfrommilitaryspendingand

war,energyandresourcesellout,andunbridledfreedomfordomesticandforeignfinance

capitaltomanagethestateandeconomyofCanada.

The majority entrenched conservative coalition about which the Prime Minister speaks

excludesallofthose labour,democraticandgenuinepeoplescoalitionsthatopposedthe

conservativeagendainthelastelection.

ThatistherealcoalitionthatCanadaneedsandurgently.

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