smug bastard

You have to give him credit for a smart political move. Gilles deceive announced that his party, THE BLOCK, is willing to bring down the minority Conservative government over their Afghanistan policy. The Block wants to limit Canada's involvement to it's current 2009 mandate and more importantly, refocus their efforts on reconstruction rather than the search and destroy activity they're now involved in. Of all the regions of Canada, Quebec is the most opposed to the military action in Afghanistan and since Gille's party only runs in Quebec, any opposition to the conflict would be a wise political move. You might think that forcing an election on an election weary public, would not win him any votes but I think that the unexpected popularity, in Quebec, of the new Liberal leader, makes Gilles think that it would be a good idea to take on the Liberals, (the Block's main political rivals) sooner rather than later. If this move doesn't force an election it will be because a good portion of Liberals side with the Conservatives on Afghanistan, quite likely hurting them in Quebec, not to mention Vancouver and Toronto. So it's a win, win situation for the Block.

One other thing to note. The NDP will vote with the Block on this, (that's almost a sure thing) and that may raise their profile in Quebec, something they desperately need. So Gilles' plan may, to a degree, back fire and let Quebecers know that there is another left wing party out there, something the rest of Canada has been aware of since at least 1963.