The Liberals are sounding fiery with new boss, Michael Ignatieff, leading the way. Hell, he even invaded the Conservative backyard. He's now a firm Alberta oilsands supporter, saying the oily muck ties the nation together and creates jobs from coast to coast.

With the price of oil tanking, that's not quite true, and Iggy knows that too. But that silly detail wasn't going to stop him - Iggy was on a roll. And he's still pushing.

Iggy sees an opening. His current political career suggests he doesn't like wasting time when opportunity comes knocking. He went from being someone who hadn't lived in the country for decades, to a disputed parachute candidate, to an MP, to running for the leadership, to winning the leadership.... all within three years.

Iggy must be a quick study.

And when he sits back in his study - because I guarantee Iggy has a study - I bet he cracks his knuckles and peers across his expensive collection of first editions and plots strategy. He knows, first of all, that he's Liberal Leader. History tells him that he's almost expected to distort the truth and lay blatant lies on a receptive public. Iggy naturally embraces the role.

So, here's his plan.

Force an election.

Why not? The taxpayers pay for it, and the media pays to give politicians free advertising most of the time. Iggy knows he'll get more support than Dion did, so he can stay as leader even with a modest gain in seats.

People are hung up on the fact the Liberal Party has no money. Shit, they'll use this to their advantage. Run an ultra-low cost campaign, spin it as a “keep spending low in a tight economy” type concept, and blitz the net and work the candidates like dogs in their local ridings. Just keep repeating that the Cons haven't and can't manage the economy. Use whatever means necessary, even the most gross of lies, like Trudeau's “Zap Your Frozen” and Jean Chretien's promised GST cut.

The Liberal Party is anxious to get its hands on billions of dollars worth of public money that's about to be handed out in the next several years. Controlling where that money goes and to whom is the key issue of the next election.

And I suspect that election will be sooner than later, because pork barrels of this size don't come along very often. These are Canadian politicians, they have no real fear of spreading bullshit. And this in a climate where just about everybody is begging the government to spend money and hand out favours. It's a Liberal dreamland.

The Cons are just too obvious to be believed. For example, Jim Flaherty's recent appeal to get $3 billion moving fast AFTER admitting “some mistakes will be made” while handing out $40 billion of taxpayer's money. He wants three big ones flowing out there into the economy by... April Fool's Day. You can't script this shit.

And the Cons want to keep the power that allows politicians to get away with crassness on that level. Who wouldn't. Set up mistakes, and get the mistake-prone money moving before the Liberals can force an election, greasing the campaigns rails at a critical time.

Spring election bet anyone?
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.