Constitutional Crises and Constitutional Systems Part II

It seems that Canada’s current political (and potential constitutional) crisis has caught the attention of pundits and bloggers in other areas of the world. Here are a few excerpts from some of the commentary.

Cameron of the U.S. based blog “The Crossed Pond” offers an insightful analysis of the crisis, noting, among other things, that

Canada is still technically under the thumb of the Queen of England. The Queen’s envoy is called the Governor General who has authority to call together portions of Parliament to form government and whatnot. The last time one was asked to exercise real authority in forming a government was back in the 1920s, making the current power struggle pretty rare.

James Joyner of the “Atlantic Council of the United States” in a piece entitled “Canada’s Conservative Government Nears Collapse” discusses the inherent instability of a Liberal-Bloc-NDP coalition:

While seemingly an absurd result, Harper’s plurality is not a majority. It’s doubtful, however, that a Liberal-Quebecois-New Democrat coalition would be any more successful

Meanwhile, another American blogger spins the crisis as a coup with a post entitled:“Coup in Canada? Overthrowing the Conservatives?”.

Its also interesting how various media outlets world wide “spin” the story, whether as a crisis or a “power grab”:

Xinhua News Network of China reports:

Canada’s Conservative government on Sunday said it would deliver an early budget on Jan. 27, as it struggles to stave off the political crisis sparked by a major economic statement.

Australian News similarly reports

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has deferred an upcoming confidence vote that his Government was set to lose, to avoid a power grab or snap elections.