I have to admit, I was completely taken in by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

After October’s federal election, when he received a stronger minority mandate than he’d had before but still fell short of a majority, Harper seemed to strike a different tone than he had during his first term.

He seemed to recognize the seriousness of the economic crisis and recognized that tackling it would require his government to take a less partisan and more cooperative approach to dealing with the opposition.

I took him at his word and felt reassured. What a fool I am. The fiscal update tabled by his finance minister on Thursday was one of the most crass partisan moves this country has seen in some time.

It was designed not to address the economic turmoil which has seen decades of wealth evaporate and has many Canadians in a stressed out tizzy, but to try and weaken the opposition.

It is the height of irresponsibility to play these kind of games when what Canada needs, and what Harper promised, is a steady, calm hand on the country’s economic tiller.

In a minority parliament, where the government needs opposition votes in order to get things passed, it has to make sure it tables proposals which are at least somewhat palatable to opposition members.

But the fiscal update contained none of the fiscal stimulus proposals the opposition parties, not mention leading economists, say are needed immediately.

It also proposes to balance the budge by selling off government assets while capping the wages of civil servants and taking away their right to strike for a couple of years.

These ideas might sit well with core Conservative supporters but strike at the heart of the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois’ core principles.

Finally, Harper decided to poke a stick in the eye of opposition MPs by taking away the $1.95 subsidy to political parties for every vote they gain. This poison pill would decimate the opposition parties but not the Conservatives because their coffers are much less reliant on the subsidies than those of other parties.

Basically, Harper decided he would take advantage of a crisis to destroy his opponents, betting they wouldn’t dare topple his government and risk forcing an election.

But the opposition parties appear to be ready to call his bluff, probably because they realize if they let him have his way, they will be rendered irrelevant and Harper will be able to rule as if he had a majority even though he didn’t earn one.

So now there is serious talk of voting out the Conservatives and having the opposition parties form a coalition government to take its place. And how did Harper react? He postponed the planned vote on his government’s proposals and cancelled Monday’s opposition day.

Opposition days are when the opposition parties can put forward motions and the Liberals had intended to table a non-confidence motion on the next one.

In other words, when democracy threatened him and his government, Harper simply did away with the democratic process.

I can’t imagine what this guy would be doing if Canadians had entrusted him with a majority.

adrian@kelownacapnews.com