What is Stephen Harper afraid of?

Harper is a control freak. Currently he is bad mouthing the word, "coalition." Coalitions work very well for the average citizen because each party in the coalition needs to negotiate and compromise with each other to keep the government working.. It's all about respect for every citizen regardless of who they voted in office. History tells us that coalitions have worked very well and were slanted in favour of the citizenry.

Harper refuses to be involved in a coalition because he would need to be a part of a political team that works together. The man is a control freak with a hidden agenda. It will be a very sorry day for Canadian sovereignty and Canadian freedoms if he gets a majority.

@Bad Moon Rising - Sorry, I disagree with you. Don't forget Harper would be a part of the coalition as well. If he dug his heels in regarding what you have just described, the other partners would need to go along with him if they wanted to survive. If they didn't, the government would be dissolved and we would be back to another election. You make it sound that the "coalition" would exist without Harper. Not so unless he wanted it that way, which would be sheer stupidity on his part.

The previous 2 elections which resulted in minorities also taught Mr. Harper a thing or two. When all the Liberals could do was try to paint Harper this or that, he spent the entire campaign defending himself instead of spreading his message for the upcoming years. We had years of Liberal lies, scandals, broken promises leading up to Harper winning his first minority. The Liberals ran the previous campaigns on fear, fear what Harper would do, fear this, fear that, hoping Canadians would forget the Cretien, Martin messes. All Harper had done WITH MINORITY governments is help lead Canada through a tough world wide recession, trying to do what is best for the nation as a whole, not regional interests which may not be in the best interest of the Country. Harper could have caved in and adjusted his budget to appease a few but at what cost to the whole , just to remain in power as the Liberals and NDP infer. It was the Liberals and NDP that brought this unnecessary election on. We all know the Bloc is a regional Party, the NDP know they will not get elected so they can promise the moon because they know they never have to deliver. What Harper is afraid of is wasting our time through another election where it remains the same, which is why he is asking for a majority from us. Answering a few questions a day means Harper can focus on his platform, he has acknowledged he may have made mistakes in the past, Liberals try to sound like they have all the answers, problem is, they have all the answers to the wrong questions. Research previous Liberal Governments, the scandals, the broken promises, scrap the GST, the vaunted Red book, failing to upgrade the military which is why Harper has to now. Worst thing that could happen is another minority which has made Harper cautious, not afraid.

P.S. for Lowball

What hidden agenda. Harper has been PM for quite awhile now with no sign of a hidden agenda. Liberals ran on the fear of this, fear of that , the past 2 elections, sounds like you fell for it.

He is "afraid" of having a Liberal/Bloc/NDP Coalition running the country which would tank the Canadian Economy and put the dollar back on par with the uS. The US are about 4 years away from going Bankrupt and although the Canadian Economy is stronger now, the inevitable collapse of the US Economy will take the Canadian Economy down with it in large measure. A Coalition spending spree supported by massive tax increases resulting in Corporate relocation and Capital Flight, combined with Cap and Trade Taxation on Corporations and hence individuals, would result in an immediate collapse of the Canadian Economy. If you think Cap and Trade is benign swapping of Credits between companies and individuals, then think again. This is how they would balance their budgets and at an ever escalating rate of spending and pricing of credits. The Consumer and Taxpayer will literally be held hostage to the Federal Government. All of the good work done by Mr. Martin would be washed away in hours by this Coalition proposal!

EDIT @ Asker: You seem to be a bit confused between Party mergers, support from a Federalist Party for the Progressive Conservatives by Reform in bringing a Non Confidence motion, and the role of a Separatist, Quebec centred Party (the Bloc) in actually Governing the affairs of the Canadian (not Quebec) Nation. There is a world of differences involved and my concerns are that Quebec have made no apologies (and I agree with them)that they have been elected by Quebecois (not all Separatists) to negotiate the best deal for Quebec monetarily. They do this very effectively! They will demand an enormous financial and political toll be paid by the Liberal/NDP component of that Coalition. We are not talking about just a few Bloc Seats, we are talking about about an almost unanimous consent among all of the most virulent members of the Bloc who are dedicated to the destruction of Canada!

The cost of this Coalition could easily be $300-$500 Billion in added Federal Debt over a 4-5 year period. This would be created in both direct spending and Tax increases related to their unanimous Cap and Trade support and the proposed Tax increases for Canadian Corporations. I am thinking in Economic Terms, not ideological terms as you seem to be.

EDIT @ Lowball: The Conservatives would become the Minority Opposition and cannot be forced by the GG into a Coalition. The Libs/NDP and Bloc, go to the GG with a proposal to Govern that simply requires their OWN combined Majority. Harper could not stop a darn thing as long as the 3 principals agreed in their Throne Speech and subsequent Budget. It would be impossible for the Conservatives, even with a 153 Seat Minority, to defeat the approved 3 Party Coalition. It would be a bloody disaster! As long as the Confidence of the house sits only with the coalition, any Legislation would be approved! Since Confederation, there has only ever been one Coalition Government between Robert Borden and with Defectors from the Liberal Party over the issue of Conscription during WWI (1917-1920). The only reason for having a single Coalition Government is in the case of a National Emergency. This has never happened in Canada. The Borden Government had the non Conscription Liberals in Opposition to the Government. They had no power since they were in the vast Minority. It was a "Union Government". The proposed Liberal/NDP/Bloc Coalition is a fundamentally untenable Coalition since it represents wholly divergent objectives to the significant Conservative Minority (140-154 Seats) that will probably result from this Election and from the Last Parliament. You are describing a Wartime Coalition that has never actually worked in Canada. The system of Governance is "1st Past the Post" and not a strict Proportional representation. There are not enough potential Defectors to give the Conservatives anything more than they already had, and there are not enough Conservative votes to gain Confidence. Only the 3 Party Coalition could gain Confidence and they WOULD given that that is their stated objective. The only way they would not is if a few Liberals were to defect and give the Conservatives a Majority, thereby defeating the Coalition. They could have done this last month and could do it on the first Confidence vote. From a Conservative standpoint a unanimous Coalition gets them nothing at all except some insignificant Committee postings and or nomnal "Cabinet" postings.

This is all moot anway, since the Coalition Proposal was for only a 3 Party Coalition with Liberal PM as appointed by those 3 Parties and ignoring the fairly obvious prefernce for the majority selection of Harper as PM. This difference in "interpretation" would be a collosal and inescapable political reality. BTW - No Bloc before 1982 = Big Differences!

He is afraid of losing his bid for a majority government. If he doesn't get a majority, then he loses some of his power and that doesn't sit well with Harper. He has his own agenda and wants no interference. He is running a tight campaign and counting on complacency and indifference to dodge the issues until election day.

Imo.

Getting his *** kicked if he gets a minority government next may.