Liberals and the BQ - Mutual Parasites (en francais)

With Paul Martin's refusal to debate Gilles Duceppe, and Duceppe's subsequent refusal to take up Stephen Harper's challenge to debate, once and for all it is now clear how the BQ and Liberals feed off each other in Quebec.

The last thing either party wants is for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives to gain any traction whatsoever there.

Paul Martin needs the BQ so he can wrap himself in the flag and play Captain Canada in the rest of Canada. Raising the seperatist threat in Ontario remains a Liberal mainstay in scaring voters. Bernard Lord put it best with his pyro comparison.

Gilles Duceppe needs Paul Martin and his merry band to show Quebec why only the BQ can represent Quebec.

Along comes Stephen Harper with some reasonable ideas. Jean Charest and Mario Dumont like them, with Dumont going so far as to say he would vote for Harper. That alone must have sent shivers down the spine of most in the Liberal and BQ war rooms.

Harper should press on with the offer and appear on TQS in an open interview, talk show format. If no one from Quebec wants to meet him in a one on one debate he should engage the people head on.

Stephen has played this one brilliantly. CPC candidates in Quebec can hammer at the BQ for avoiding a debate and the Liberals for the same thing. What are they afraid of?

Only Stephen Harper is willing to Stand Up For Canada, and in doing so has shown himself to be a credible federalist alternative in Quebec.