In House panel - Deficit Politics
A federal campaign is a race with multiple contestants vying for the top spot, but this week the spotlight was on two players — the NDP and the Liberals — and their debate over deficits.
Our In House panelists Rosemary Barton, host of Power & Politics on CBC News Network, and Post Media and National Post columnist Andrew Coyne are here to discuss:
The battle on the left between the Liberals and the NDP:
AC: It's definitely on, but they've switched places. I had thought change would be defined by the New Democrats as a change of direction, and I thought the Liberals would be focused on changing the style of government. And it seems they've inverted that.
RB: One of the things the NDP has been wanting to bank on is the experience of their leader, in stark contrast to Justin Trudeau. And now we're in a place where that has opened up doors that perhaps the NDP hasn't even considered. They're trying to find a way to broaden their support, and they don't have to look to the left. They can actually look to the centre right. Here's the danger though - what if you start to look too far centre right, and you start to lose some of those progressive voices that are the NDP's base?
Deficits: good idea?
RB: I don't think it's a terrible play. I think there's something to the idea of being transparent. That's what the Liberals tell you they're trying to do. It also gives them the net advantage of saying, "here's what we're actually going to do to try and create growth." I'm not sure I've really heard that clearly spelled out from the other parties.
Paul Martin's surprise pop-up on the campaign trail:
AC: There's a certain cognitive dissonance about it. It's a bit hard to be hammering the government for running deficits when you are about to announce that you yourself would like to run several years more of deficits.
How much faith should we put in the fiscal monitor?
RB: It obviously looks back and doesn't give us a real good sense of what is coming down the pipe. It's something the Conservatives can point to and say maybe things are going to be OK.
AC: We may well find out next week that in quarter two we had the fabled second consecutive quarter of negative growth, and we'll all be able to jump up and down and say, "recession!" But that doesn't tell us what's happening now, in the third and fourth quarter.
Where the heck is [Finance Minister] Joe Oliver?
RB: He doesn't seem to be present and I don't think he's part of their game plan. He works hard, but he's not the best communicator.
AC: I believe he's speaking at a women's club in downtown Toronto.