OTTAWA

To understand why the Liberals and the Conservatives lack traction in the public opinion polls, no need to look further than the winding-down spring session of Parliament.

Since the House reopened in March, Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff have taken turns to drop the ball while Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe have very much been on top of their games.

A few weeks ago, the Bloc Québécois was the only party to treat the idea of letting the Auditor-General look into the expenses of MPs for what it was: a political no-brainer. The episode once again demonstrated that when it comes to instinct, Gilles Duceppe could give his counterparts a few tips.

Earlier this month, Duceppe, was selected “most knowledgeable” parliamentarian by his peers — the majority of whom do not share his sovereignist persuasion.

It is certainly a paradox that a sovereignist tenor is in the process of becoming the institutional memory of the House of Commons but few would argue the notion that Duceppe — who is about to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his first election as MP — has become a formidable parliamentarian in his own right.

To avoid precipitating an election last fall, the NDP set aside the anti-Conservative mantra that had seen its leader reject the previous budget sight unseen.

That overdue change of course brought the New Democrats back in the day-to-day mainstream of the minority Parliament; this spring it allowed the party to grab more space under the policy spotlight.

Just before the House reconvened, Jack Layton announced that he was undergoing treatment for cancer. Then he spent the spring session carrying as full a load as his fellow party leaders. That hard work has translated into an enviable popularity rating.

Over the past few weeks, the notion of a Liberal/NPD rapprochement has resurfaced and along with it a poll that suggested Layton would be better placed to lead a coalition to victory than Michael Ignatieff. He has certainly been more sure-footed in his approach to the coalition debate than his Liberal counterpart.

It is an understatement to say that Prime Minister Stephen Harper failed to live up to his reputation as a great tactician over the past six months.

His decision to prorogue Parliament for the winter was ill-advised as was his original confrontational approach to the Afghan detainee issue. It could have led to a needless parliamentary crisis.

His maternal health initiative derailed unto the abortion rights minefield — probably the last terrain a Conservative party that seeks to expand its support among women voters should want to spend time on.

The Guergis-Jaffer controversy brought to light significant cracks in the ethical armour of the government and the Conservative free-spending approach to the G8/G20 summits has turned the events into a public relations nightmare.

The Conservatives were on a roll in the polls at the end of last year. Now they have a solid hold on only one in three votes.

They are very much the authors of that misfortune as one can’t credit an effective official opposition for keeping the government down in the polls.

Over the past six months, Ignatieff’s performance has made both Harper and his own unloved predecessor Stéphane Dion look good.

A so-called thinkers conference failed to produce any sparks of original policy thinking on the Liberal leader’s part.

In the House, he and his party have been shooting blanks on the economy — the central issue of the current federal policy debate.

In the wake of the advent of a governing coalition in the U.K., Ignatieff missed an opportunity to lead an intelligent conversation on coalition-making in Canada.

In the face of polls that suggest only a deal with the NDP could allow the Liberals to govern after the next election, the idea has taken on a life of its own.

It is dividing the Liberal party and very much threatening Ignatieff’s already fragile hold on his caucus.

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In the circumstances, the prescription of a summer bus tour of the barbecue circuit comes across as yet another variation on the theme of going around in circles.

It will be interesting to see whether the Liberal bus delivers Ignatieff back to Parliament Hill safe and sound next fall.

Chantal Hébert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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