So the Conservative Party of Canada have enacted a ridiculous strategy of playing chicken while the economy teeters on the brink, and I'm left wondering, are they too clever by half?

While I do realize that the Harrisites are gaining influence in the PMO, and that their Machiavellian nature should not be underestimated, I still assumed that Harper and the people around him were smarter than this.

Couched in an economic statement that includes government spending cuts, the Government is literally trying to bankrupt the opposition parties. An anti-democratic move unto itself, but one so crazy I kind of wonder if the Tories themselves actually expect it to pass.

Perhaps the government is actually engineering it's own defeat. Upset with their inability to obtain a majority to weather the economic storm, they are playing a wicked kind of end game that is both awesomely stupid and fiendishly clever. Either they will successfully bankrupt and cripple the infrastructure of opposing parties, or their government will be defeated and a new coalition comprised of Liberals, NDP, and BQ will form a new government.

In no way do I, or the Conservatives think there will be an election. The last election was a total waste, with horrible turnout, and calling another would inevitably draw the wrath of pretty much everybody.

Instead what we're likely gonna see is a new government formed by a coalition of the three opposition parties. Something that has happened before, both federally and provincially, and I suspect would be really popular at its initial formation. It would actually be a Canadian Government that was elected by the majority of voters.

Which is why I think the Tories are scheming. Nobody wants to govern in a recession, unless of course they have a strong enough mandate to make it out with enough time to make people feel good again. If the Conservatives can't neuter their opposition, why not give them the hot seat and let them take the heat for the really rough patch. While this new Government might be popular at first, it would face really difficult times.

You could just imagine Tory strategists sitting in a room thinking what would be better than having Bob Rae as Prime Minister during a recession. They've already registered the domain name raedays.ca, and many of them cut their teeth with the golf pro named Mike who came after Bob to loot and burn Ontario. Is Harper trying to engineer his own Common Sense Revolution?

Why else would Finance Minister Jim Flaherty make such a bald faced lie by claiming the Government would report a surplus for the next two years! He's setting up the opposition, who after coming to power will inevitably have to declare a deficit at which point the Tories can claim mismanagement and pave the way for their majority.

It's the kind of scheme that makes you shake your head, but at this point I have no other explanation as to why the Tories would act so foolishly. Clearly they must think they are too clever for the rest of us, but I say their arrogance will be their doom.

Update: Looks like the Tories have backed off their attempt to eliminate federal party financing. Perhaps their game of chicken was too much for them to handle?