The Fall of the House of Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ability to keep the muted factions of his majority-governing party tightly together is part of his “genius” as a political leader, but some political observers say whenever Mr. Harper leaves, there could be trouble for the party.

One of my favourite personages from history is Alexander the Great - a leader, a man of passions, a visionary, but also someone who built a cult of personality around himself alone and pushed the boundaries and patience of his empire too far.  None of his generals could capture what he created; none could even think quite as big.  So, the empire Alexander built fell.

Stephen Harper is no Iskander; he has centralized control, set himself up as "Napoleon" for his Party, but all the things that have helped him rise will be the downfall of the empire he has built from the bottom up.

Truly, I feel bad for him - Harper will not be remembered by history too kindly.  In fact, a hundred years from now, nobody will talk much about him at all.  It's the problems that will follow his reign that everyone will rue.

Mr. Nicholls said parties have been moving towards heavy centralization and discipline over the decades, and said if New Democrats win government they would likely adopt a similar approach.

That, however, is the fate Canadians have elected.  When you focus on firewalls and empire-building, it will always be thus.