Stephen Harper goes to Europe and becomes...a Socialist

When Stephen Harper was last seen on our shores he was the Canadian champion of "Big C" conservatism. You know the variety, heavy on the libertarian side of the political spectrum. Get the government out of people's lives and off their backs, lower taxes and let the marketplace regulate itself. That's the Stephen Harper Canadians have come to know, the Stephen Harper some Canadians even love.

Well folks, something has happened. Maybe the communion wafer was tainted, or perhaps the Prime Minister's plane was routed over the Bermuda Triangle on its way to the G8 summit in Italy. Conspiracy theories will no doubt abound, but the simple fact is that the Stephen Harper talking to reporters in Italy is not the same Stephen Harper who governs this nation's ruling party like some kind of anointed king.

This champion of small government is now advocating "global governance" of the world's financial markets. TALK ABOUT A 180!!! He even prattles on about unregulated capitalism like a latter day convert to the Marxist League.

I couldn't believe my ears when Harper said that having the banks and financial institutions pay back their billions in loans, and then if they were to say to governments 'get out of our lives', our Conservative PM thinks this would be "the worst of all worlds".

I realize at this point there are likely more than a few doubters, particularly die hard conservatives who think I must be making this up. Here's the evidence on youtube, complete with Stephen Harper's Idiot Toady (SHIT for short) Tony Clement nodding idiotically in the background.

I suppose we'll have a clearer picture once Stevie is back in front of Canadian cameras. We can then see if this conversion is short lived or enduring. With the way our government is handling the global economic crisis though, I'm gaining a better understanding of what Michael Ignatieff meant when he said in a recent speech that the Conservatives under Mr. Harper:

"...have been forced to carry out liberal stimulus programs their own ideology previously rejected, only proving that it is tough to do something well when you don’t believe in doing it at all".

Don't think this has gone unnoticed in Tory circles. Blogging Tory and former Harper colleague with the National Citizens Coalition Gerry Nicholl's says of this video: Harper channels Layton

If any senior Conservative party members make their way to this progressively moderate little soapbox, I have a question for you. Is that really Tony Clement standing next to Mr Harper, or just a life sized bobble head doll?

If you enjoyed reading take a second and click on this Canadian Blogosphere button, then click on the green button on the Gateway Page to vote for this blog.