OTTAWA - Prime Minister Harper says he will neither call, nor cause, an election in the new year.

In a year-end interview with CTV, Harper says Canadians "don't need an election."

He says Canadians don't want see their politicians -- in his words -- "screw around with a bunch of political games."

Although Harper admits there'll be some minor cabinet changes in the new year, he says his focus will be on the economy -- not politicking.

That said, the Tories are rolling out new attack ads for radio that accuse the Liberals of wanting to put a tax on iPods -- a charge the Girts says is patently untrue, and meant to mislead Canadians.

Although Harper describes the global economic recovery as fragile, he says Canada is in a "very good" long-term economic position.

He says the government's top priority is trimming the deficit, which is on track to reach almost 50 (b) billion dollars in the current fiscal year.

But Harper says there will be no "slash and burn" campaign to reduce spending and no gutting transfer payments the provinces use for things like health-care and education.