Eh! José!

It seems it was only last month that Canadians went to the polls to elect the same federal government we had before. Oh wait..it WAS only last month! Now brace yourselves, sharpen your pencils, have your photo ID at hand, and remove your veils my fellow Canadians because this is no joke, we might be heading towards yet another federal election.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his much anticipated economic update this afternoon, and the three opposition parties didn’t like it one bit.

Among other things, Flaherty’s plan includes cutting the $30-million public subsidy granted to political parties on a per vote basis and limiting public-sector salariesincreases to 1.5 per cent. But what pleased opposition parties the least was in fact something that’s missing in Flaherty’s update: a stimulus package.

So the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc have made up their mind: there is no way they will vote for this plan. And this being a confidence vote, we’re facing and imminate dissolution of parliament.

But wait, it turns out we might be spared the agony of all those campaign rallies and debates since there are some rumours of a coalition government between the opposition parties. For now these are just rumours but the possiblity is there and if you ask me, it’s a pretty good idea.

Although the idea of a coalition government might seem a bit abstract for us, it’s a formula that has been used quite frequently in Europe. The opposition parties understand that Canadians don’t want another election, and a coalition government seems like the best option if they are not willing to support the Conservative’s economic plan.

Let’s hope Dion, Layton, and Duceppe can come to an agreement in order to form a new government without sending us back to the polls.

CBC report on Flaherty\’s economic update