Meanwhile, in Canada...

Oooh. Another election?!?!

ALEXANDER PANETTA

OTTAWA (CP) - Explosive new testimony before the sponsorship inquiry had political parties banging their election drums Friday and discussing the possible collapse of the minority Liberal government.

The new testimony at the Gomery inquiry cannot be revealed because of a publication ban but is considered so devastating to the Liberal government that it has all parties looking at election scenarios.

As opposition parties eyed a possible election call with mounting enthusiasm, one Liberal MP with a safe seat said he was asked Friday to contact neighbouring ridings where the party needs help organizing local campaigns.

But officials in the Prime Minister's Office said no such instructions had gone out and insisted any election call would be the fault of the opposition.

All parties avoided speculating aloud about the likelihood of a spring campaign, and their silence was about more than just fear of violating the publication ban.

Nobody wants to appear eager for an election campaign now because once the writ is dropped, the government and opposition parties plan to blame each other for dissolving the minority Parliament.

The blame game began quietly Friday as the various actors accused each other of hankering to pull the plug.

"Our election readiness went up 20 per cent today," said one Liberal MP, who asked not to be named.

The accepted wisdom that the opposition Tories and NDP don't want an election since they're still less popular than the Liberals has been turned on its head by the steady stream of revelations before the inquiry headed by Justice John Gomery.

The Bloc Quebecois has sounded most willing to fight an election, and could easily topple the government if supported by the other parties in a confidence vote this month.

But the Liberal MP predicted the minority government would survive the spring because, he said, the parties will likely strike a deal on a critical budget vote.

Conservatives warned privately, however, that even if the budget bill passes this month, another legislative tool like a non-confidence motion could be used to trigger an election.

Nobody would say that publicly.

The Tory justice critic, well aware that the punishment for violating a publication ban includes possible jail time, had little to offer.

"All I can say is that given what was said yesterday (Thursday before Gomery) the political landscape may be changing quite rapidly," MP Vic Toews said.

That changing landscape was evident as Prime Minister Paul Martin and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper both spent the day in British Columbia, which will be a key battleground in any future election campaign.

Both men refused to be drawn into speculation when asked whether Thursday's testimony would be grounds for an election.

Before making any decision, Harper and his officials must first find out when the publication ban will be lifted on testimony delivered Thursday by Montreal ad executive Jean Brault.

The ban could theoretically be lifted at any time but depends largely on developments in Brault's own criminal-fraud trial.

Lawyers for the former Groupaction boss appeared in a Montreal courtroom asking that his trial be delayed until September. A decision is expected next Wednesday.

The NDP accused the Liberals of planning to orchestrate their own defeat in Parliament so they can rush into a campaign now, before additional revelations come before the sponsorship inquiry.

By loading the budget bill with a Kyoto accord measure sure to be opposed by the Tories, Martin is trying to force his own defeat, said an NDP strategist.

"The government is precipitating its own demise," said one NDP strategist.

"If Paul Martin had not played games with Kyoto, there would not be a problem.

"This is not the opposition parties ganging up on Paul Martin. This is Paul Martin playing funny games."

Martin and his closest aides held meetings and conference calls Friday to discuss the budget bill and sponsorship fallout, sources said.

They would not comment on speculation they might strip down the budget bill to remove the Kyoto component, which involved broadening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

But they were preparing to blame Harper for any writ drop in the near future.

"The Canadian people do not want an election," said Martin spokesman Scott Reid.

"The government does not want an election. The only leader who has spoken about the possibility of an election is Stephen Harper."

The Liberals were also preparing to insulate their leader against attacks that will inevitably flow from the sponsorship testimony.

Any sins committed happened under Jean Chretien's administration and cannot be linked to Martin, said one strategist close to the prime minister.

"You will not see anybody identified with the Paul Martin team involved in any of the accusations put forward," he said.

"Because that's not how the Paul Martin team works."

In another rehearsal of a possible Liberal election theme, the strategist said Conservatives could end up killing the Gomery inquiry if they topple the government.

The inquiry and its daily attacks on the Liberal reputation should be suspended during an election campaign, he suggested.

But one inquiry official diputed the notion that the inquiry would automatically shut down because of a writ drop.

"Only a government decree would put an end to the commission," said Gomery spokesman Francois Perreault.

"Until that time the commission will continue - whether or not there's an election."

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