I just posted in the other thread that I think Harper will win a majority. Things can change rapidly, but there's a reason Harper wanted (and got) his election now--the Tories know that the iron is hot now: they're up in the polls, flush with cash, and faced with an opposition in disarray.
Just don't kid yourself that the opposition were the ones who wanted this election. Harper wrote the budget specifically as a poison pill for the NDP, precisely so that he could bring about this result. Layton had no choice but to vote against it, knowing that Harper would use it against him at the polls--and Harper knew it. All the hand-waving about "Canadians don't want an election" is just political posturing.
And that disingenuousness is something that bothers me about Harper; there are lots of things he's done that I think are worthy of contempt (and no, they're not "small things": the in and out scandal ALONE should be enough to bring down a government, and then you add to that contempt of parliament, proroguing parliament, the long form census and generally being kind of a dweeb...)
But to me, if you're going to bring about an election, at least be honest that you're the person doing it. I guarantee you the Tories are the only ones who want to go to the polls right now. The liberals are moribund and broke, and the NDP faces the prospect of losing half their seats to the Tories.
And maybe "disingenuous" is being a bit generous. When I was a kid, breaking something and then blaming someone else because it was broken was called "lying."
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