The Flea That Swallowed The Dog

The dog, moreover, that hosts the flea. Hoping in its generosity of mindset, that enabling a little blood-sucking from time to time will ensure the flea would not assume ever greater entitlements. Despite which, learning helplessly, hopelessly, that appeasement only encourages ever-greater demands, and the flea is never, ever, ready to reach the point of satiation, satisfaction. Reliant on continually irritating the skin of the dog.

The government of Stephen Harper has been cleverly capable in assuaging the demands of Quebec, in inveigling itself into fairly good regard in the province, in managing to produce a more quiescent Bloc, taking the bite out of its blood-sucking by proclaiming the province to represent a 'nation'. Never enough, and irritating to their separatist agenda, but where there's life in the flea, there's more blood to be sucked.

Imagine the triumph shared by Gilles Duceppe and his partners-in-rebellion at trumping the government of Stephen Harper. Didn't take all that much, just another provocation the onlooker might think, a mere scratch in the itch on the hide of the dog. But it's serious business when the opposition parties, complacent in their own blood-sucking of taxpayer dollars to support their disinterest in political fund-raising, see their funding imperilled.

Now, because the miserable alliance of Stephane Dion and Jack Layton urgently require the support of Gilles Duceppe, secessionist extraordinaire, to accomplish their putsch, the Bloc suddenly has credibility. So much so that when Mr. Duceppe rose to speak in the House of Commons, post-coalition, cheers rang out from among the rank ranks of the Liberals and the NDP. Obviously, they have no shame in their dankly reeking tactics.

Allowing Mr. Duceppe to boast that his support did not come cheaply, and it is vastly dependent on the promises the other two leaders were swift to render in response to his demands. He will stick around and give them the life-support they require in Bloc seats for a year, unless they see clear to surrendering the "concrete measures" denied the Bloc heretofore, to result in national severance through sovereignty.

They may not yet be quite prepared to become the instrument that strikes the death blow to Confederation, but they are complicit, in their eagerness to have the Bloc support, in adding lustre to the reputation of the Bloc within Quebec, so recently languishing through mild voter disinterest in that province. And, it is anticipated, in the process, greatly enhancing the Bloc's aspirations come the next election.

That flea has jumped off the old dog, and firmly re-attached itself to two new dogs, and is sucking mightily to extract all the blood it can.