Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sign clean-air pact in Los Angeles, December 2006

Especially in countries like Canada, it is important for political leaders to surprise the people from time to time, to keep our interest up. And federal Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has done just that, in his appointment of retiring Manitoba New Democrat Premier Gary Doer as Canada’s new ambassador to the United States.

In the past Mr. Harper has shown that he is capable of almost unbelievably stupid strategic moves. But in this case his Machiavellian and admirably nonpartisan brilliance is clearly on display (in the tradition of Brian Mulroney?). Just what it means for the prospect of yet another federal election this fall we will leave to Dr. Frank Bunting’s forthcoming deep think-piece on the subject.

Dr. Bunting has given us a few hints about his work in progress by pointing to the latest Toronto Star/Angus Reid poll.  This  “shows that 34 per cent of decided voters … would vote for the Conservatives compared to 30 per cent for the Liberals.”Â  He has also stressed Chantal Hébert’s observation in today’s Toronto Star: “If the past 3 1/2 years have shown anything, it is that there is too big a gap between Stephen Harper’s brand of conservatism and the ideological outlook of the three main opposition parties to realistically hope for a cooperative minority Parliament under his rule.”

Dr. Bunting says Ms. Hébert may still be right, even with the apparent right-wing Mr. Harper’s surprising appointment of the apparent left-wing Mr. Doer. Meanwhile:“Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton” has declared “New Democrats feel honoured to have one of our most effective leaders chosen to play this significant role on behalf all Canadians.” (Really?) And Premier Doer himself has said: “The old left-right jargon I believe is out of date and out of touch with the public.” He will soon have his chance to tell it to the Marines.