Firstly it gives Poilievre an honest opportunity to contribute. People want to see everyone working together, so by letting Poilievre in right away he’s giving him a chance to temper the rhetoric and get work done. And if he doesn’t temper the rhetoric, it’s likely to work in Carney’s favour. If he’s seen as obstructing, it will not look good for him. It seems like a win-win-win… It looks like fair dealing, if Poilievre comes to the table honestly it works for Carney, if he doesn’t it works for Carney as well. It’s good politics that is both strategic in the way it encourages good cooperation and has good optics around fairness.
Secondly, the elephant in the room is the separation nonsense. Poilievre is running for a seat in the heart of separatist country, and with the separation rhetoric ramping up, better to have Poilievre - who is ideologically tied to Smith and will be representing Alberta - in the public eye as soon as possible, so he can wear this garbage. After all, Smith seems to be adept at causing no end of hassle for Poilievre. Best to put him front and centre as soon as possible so he is forced to respond to it.
The difference here is that the Liberals are not the Democrats. They will stand up and push back. If Poilievre makes it about needless opposition, they will just work with the other parties and keep going. They don’t need him.
But yes, I can appreciate what you say. It seems clear that the Republicans and those like them have only ever paid lip service to good faith and respectful dialogue, and they’ve never done anything but take advantage of anyone who offers them goodwill. I can see this starting in western Canada, and I do believe Poilievre is cut from the same cloth. But I think Carney has a strategic advantage here and it doesn’t disadvantage him to at least try to create a better environment. Hard liners won’t change, but Canada seems to have softer support in the centre and they generally prefer civil politics.
I hope you’re right about the Liberals pushing back, but I have no doubt in my mind that if the situation were reversed, Poilievre would delay the byelection for as long as possible and attempt to force the Opposition leader out of Stornoway, just to be as disruptive and difficult as possible.
I believe you would be correct if the roles were reversed. For our sake we should be thankful they are not.
I don’t want to be overly optimistic, but if we can find a way to heal our country and make a positive change in our politics, I’m all for it.