Election speculation of a different sort (en francais)

I'll put my tinfoil hat on for this post. A little "what if" ing here.

The actions of Paul Martin over the last year have shown us he would do virtually anything to maintain power. Billions in spending increases, Belinda's cabinet post, troops to Darfur to try and buy Kilgour's vote, buying off Jack Layton and the list goes on.

As it stands now, Martin faces going into the election carrying the baggage of Sponsorship, Dingwall and whatever else emerges between now and then. At best, he will emerge with another minority government. That is not acceptable. Anything less than a majority will spell the end of Martin as leader of the Liberal party. For a party used to winning, they'll not suffer long with a two time loser.

With all the above taken into account, I believe Paul Martin would sell his soul, or anyone else's to remain Prime Minister. So, starting from that premise...

* Paul Martin and Jack Layton are conducting talks on Health Care. A day or two after the first Gomery report has been issued, they'll emerge with a "new" plan to save that venerable Canadian institution. Proof positive that only the NDP and Liberals are in Ottawa to "make government work" Much back-slapping and press-releasing will result.

* Health care talks having gone so well, Martin and Layton will continue to explore cooperation on other issues.

* Christmas break and a few well placed leaks

* Late January, early February Martin and Layton will once again emerge to announce they have forged a new deal that will change the face of Canadian politics and launch a new era of democracy in Canada. There are many forms this may take, but I'll give you one.

* A five year plan with a fixed election date. Liberals/NDP will not run candidates against sitting MPs of the opposite party or in marginal ridings for each party. A formula of sorts will be drafted to take care of the nitty gritty. The Liberals would have to accept the NDP's Kyoto plan, a few other concessions, a commitment to proportional representation within the five years and 1/3 of the cabinet being NDP. The NDP would have to live with some corporate tax cuts, a few law and order morsels and five more years of Paul Martin. End result would most likely be an NDP/Liberal coalition majority government.

* After five years, an election based on proportional terms.

Ok, after all that my head hurts so I have to take off the tinfoil. Feel free to borrow the hat, jump in and have some fun. It's Monday.