The Liberals face some hard decisions moving forward. Do they abstain on the budget, vote with the government or have some vote against, while others come down with the flu? Such is life when a minority government has the latitude to act like a majority.
Not sure if the Liberals want to abstain again, I mean it's been done before, nobody wants to be predictable. If the Liberals vote with the government, well the optics of that are ugly. It is winter, so a nasty flu, that renders most of caucus immobile does have a certain credible appeal. I vote for the last option, now for the application.
Tomorrow in question period, Dion should get up to ask his first question, then in mid-sentence throw in a husky sneeze, enough to get attention, nothing to overt. At the same time, make sure that a couple Liberal MP's sitting behind Dion, within camera frame, are holding a hanky, maybe a packet of Neo Citran clearly visible on their desk. After Dion is done with his questions, then Ignatieff rises, but much to everyone's surprise his voice is raspy, denoting weakness. What everyone doesn't know, the night prior Liberal strategists gave Iggy two packs of filterless Pall Malls and a mickey of Southern Comfort. Terrific theater.
Lay the foundation, then the next day have someone in the Leader of the Opposition's office (no not Layton) release a press release saying Dion is spewing fluid from every orifice, many in the caucus are falling ill. When the votes come, the Liberal benches are empty, except for Goodale and a few others, who later brag to the press scrum about the importance of regular flu shots. Perfect, the Liberals were prepared to vote against this "mile wide, inch deep" budget, but they were stifled by forces outside of their control. If Layton or Duceppe calls the Liberals "weak" they look harsh, Canadians understand aches and chills. I smell a winner people.