Carter's Recourse - 27. Chapter 27

Will adjusted his tie as he walked into the House of Commons; there was a heavy air of anticipation in the chamber as he walked along the length of seats, nodding respectfully to the Leader of the New Democrats, a matter of professional courtesy as they seemed to share many of the same agendas.

"Mister Carter," the Party Leader greeted him warmly, coming down and shaking his hand, glancing around the floor of the house to ensure that everyone was clearly watching him court the young Liberal. "Seems to me a perfect opportunity to move one seat over."

Will chuckled, shifting his notes under his other arm as he shook his head, "Not today, I'm afraid." He smiled politely and motioned to his seat, "I should get settled, if you would excuse me?"

"Mister Carter?" Will spotted Thorpe standing down towards the front of the chamber, the all-important front bench; across from him Bob Hesston was watching intently to see who took the lead in the Liberal Party. It had come down to zero hour for both sides of the floor.

Will nodded his apologies to the NDP leader, and adjusting his glasses, walked the length of the chamber to stand beside his old friend. Gritting his teeth he spoke out of the side of his mouth.

"Good morning, Mister Prime Minister," he said, shuffling his papers, and looking about him, playing it cool; he wanted to give the Conservatives as little warning as possible.

Thorpe's eyes narrowed suspiciously, reading Will's face, before he smiled. "Thank you," he replied. "How did you...?"

There was a commotion at the far end of the chamber, as the Finance Minister swept into the room, accompanied by his usual gaggle of supporters. He carried himself with the air of a man confident in his own self-worth, his jaw set rigidly as he marched along the rows of benches towards where Will and Thorpe were standing.

Bob Hesston and several members of his shadow caucus turned their attention to the man they fully expected to be the next Prime Minister of Canada. Hesston almost salivated in anticipation, as Will watched him knowing the man had probably prepared for exactly that eventuality, pouring effort and resources into researching material specifically to undermine the Finance Minister before he could even warm the seat.

Will smiled at Thorpe, still keeping the forced smile on his face. "I can be very convincing," Will replied, stepping back a step as the Finance Minister came up to shake Thorpe's hand. The two talked quietly as Will did a quick sweep of the hall.

Liberals were steadily filing into the chamber and taking their seats, preparing for another long session, quite probably, for some, the longest of their careers. The three empty seats would be felt that day, and Will rubbed his forefinger with his thumb as he did a quick head count.

"Apparently," Thorpe said after the Finance Minister had taken his customary seat, "I have promised him a Senate position?"

Will turned his head back to Thorpe, "He will wait a few months, once we've refilled our absent seats, and retire quietly into the Senate."

"How?" Thorpe pressed, as they both turned now to regard Hesston who was frowning; both the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Finance Minister were in their customary seats, which meant he had no idea who the new Prime Minister was. Hesston frowned, then smiled, jumping to the obvious conclusion that the Liberal Party hadn't found one, and was still hotly divided.

Will looked up at his old friend. "Truthfully? He didn't want the job," he explained. "He was simply running to stop the Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs from getting into power; once he learned that I had... removed that threat, he was more than happy to step aside after he was suitably placated."

"You bribed him," Thorpe surmised. "You know, you never cease to amaze me, Mister Carter."

Will shrugged simply. "It's either this, or let them win," he nodded over to the other side of the floor. "I should get back to my seat," Will said, nodding to his bench at the far end of the chamber, where he had been relegated after several disagreements with the former Prime Minister.

"Yes," Thorpe said, pointing to a bench next to his own. "Right there, if you please, Mister Carter. I want you close for this."

Will blinked, looking at the bench sitting adjacent to Thorpe's, and nodded as he took his seat as the Speaker rose in his chair, "Order, order..."

Across the floor, Hesston's eyes narrowed as he watched Thorpe take the Prime Minister's seat, setting out his papers in neatly ordered piles before looking back at Hesston, a slight smile in his eyes, daring Hesston to go ahead.

And even though the Supreme Court of Canada had not sworn in Thorpe, there was no question that he was Prime Minister at that moment.

* * *

"What's happening?" Andrew asked, sitting on the corner of Will's desk watching the television set that was showing CPAC and the events unfolding in the House of Commons.

Lisa looked up from her notes, "They're going through the final reading of a bill before they send it up to the Senate; it's mostly procedural at the moment, the really interesting stuff happens in question period; we have a couple of hours before then."

Andrew nodded, watching as the Conservative Leader rose to again challenge the validity of the 'corrupt Liberal government'. He watched as the screen changed to another angle, showing the new Prime Minister countering the argument, Will sitting to his left looking neat and polished in his suit.

Andrew realized with a start that Will, calm and controlled, looked imposing on the front bench, and was studying his opponents and offering advice to Thorpe as the Prime Minister sat down. Andrew brushed his temple with his fingers before folding his arms; Will was coming across as cultured and intelligent, exactly what had earned him the respect of his constituents, and ultimately his last election, and compared to all the aging men around them, both Will and Thorpe appeared young, vibrant.

"I have a call from the CBC," Alicia called through from the front office. "They want to interview Will."

"Book it," Lisa said leaning around in her seat to look back at Alicia. "The more press time we can get the better." She shook her head and glanced at Andrew again, "This could probably be the shortest reign as Prime Minister in history, but they're going to put on one hell of a show."

Andrew nodded. "Do you think they can pull it off?" he asked her levelly.

"It's a case of numbers," Lisa responded, tucking her notebook aside, "and they have more."

* * *

"Do you have your questions ready?" Thorpe asked leaning back and looking at his friend.

Will tapped his cue cards. "Ready and able," he replied.

"Good," Thorpe said, as the Speaker rose again, each of them knowing that they had just crossed the threshold into Question Period.

"The honourable member for Calgary Southwest," he intoned regally.

Bob Hesston rose, his black jacket falling into place as he buttoned his top button and stepped down a step so that he had one foot on the floor of the House of Commons. He gestured across the floor, "Mr. Speaker, I see the Liberal Party has selected a new leader without the benefit of an election or even a Party convention; it is good to know that they have considered the wishes of the Canadian public in deciding for them who the next leader of our Nation will be." He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

Will felt his own back stiffen in anticipation.

"The Liberal government finds itself once again embroiled in controversy, its leadership in disarray and it no longer holds the votes necessary to effectively govern this country which demonstrates that it has lost the confidence and control of the House. They lack the moral as well as the numerical capacity to effectively carry out the Queen's business. My question is, simply, when will the new Prime Minister do the honourable thing. When will he agree to put a clear vote of confidence before the House?"

The Speaker turned, "The right honourable Prime Minister,"

* * *

Alicia leaned on the doorframe. "He looks like a cross between Bill Clinton and a Cheshire cat," she remarked, nodding to the screen.

Thorpe stood, displaying the stiff posture, and tight smile that had been such a trade mark of his, as he stepped forward to answer the first question of his new career as Prime Minister. He set his papers down leaning against the parliamentary desk as he turned to face the Speaker of the House.

"Mr. Speaker, the official opposition is frankly misunderstanding a procedural motion for a confidence motion," Thorpe said confidently, a swagger in the way he said it despite the jeers from across the floor. He needed to be confident, to show Hesston and his alliance that he wasn't going to be threatened. "There is no need for a vote of confidence at this time, there are no matters of legislative importance that would be threatened by the member opposite and his partisan viewpoints. I will be more than happy to hold a vote of confidence when and if we lose a vote of national significance such as a budget. And since we are merely at an impasse--we are not at war, the economy is booming--there is no need at this time to subject the Canadian people to an election they neither want, nor need."

"The honourable member for Calgary Southwest," the Speaker said as Thorpe sat back down.

"Mr. Speaker, I say to the Right Honourable Prime Minister that the crisis, like the corruption, is deeply rooted in the Liberal Party of Canada." He switched to French, taking his customary position on the step of and facing the house at large.

* * *

Will slipped his translation earpiece in and listened to the translation as it came in, "Canadians across the country are disgusted by the corruption in the government. The Prime Minister has a death grip on the doors of 24 Sussex. Will the Prime Minister agree to hold a vote in this House on Monday on the future of his government?"

"The Prime Minister," the speaker said as Hesston sank back into his seat and Thorpe rose to meet his argument again.

"Mister Speaker," he replied in French shaking his head, "the real difficulty here is that both the Conservatives and the Bloc continue to interpret the rules and procedures of the House for their own political purposes." He beat the flat of his hand against his palm driving his point home, "What is a requirement is that this House have a confidence vote. A legitimate confidence vote is in fact on a budget. I do not know why honourable members cannot accept yes for an answer. Now our next budget isn't for several weeks; why is it they can't seem to understand, that at that time, I will be more than happy to have a confidence vote, and I will honour its consequences." He closed his book with a snap sitting back down to the applause of his party.

The Speaker rose from his chair, "Order, order. The member for Toronto-Centre."

* * *

"He's up," Lisa called through. "God, he looks young," she murmured as Will stood from beside the new Prime Minister, removing his glasses and leaving them on the desk beside him as he slipped a hand into his pocket and raised the other.

"Mister Speaker," Will said, his close-clipped British accent resounding around the chamber, and Andrew found himself holding his breath, anxious to hear what Will had to say. "Firstly, I'd like to congratulate my friend and colleague on his new position as Prime Minister." There was applause from throughout the room, met by boos from the far side. Will smiled tightly, "My question is for the Prime Minister."

Will turned to look down towards the Prime Minister. "Given the threat of an upcoming election--one that Canadians certainly do not want--" he in turn stepped down and adopted Hesston's patented stance for addressing the chamber, stopping long enough to nod across at the Conservative Leader, "I would like to ask the Prime Minister of Canada this: is he prepared to tell the House today that the government remains committed to the Canadian taxpayers, and that this House will continue to do the work for which we were all elected, in spite of the efforts of the Conservative-Separatist alliance to undermine the authority of this duly-elected governing body?"

The Speaker sounded amused as he stood up, "The right honourable Prime Minister."

"Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Toronto-Centre for the work he has done on behalf of this party the last few days." Thorpe nodded to Will as he rested a hand on the desk, "It is my hope, with a commitment that all parliamentarians share, regardless of political affiliation, to contribute to real progress for Canadians, for this country, for our future. The Government faces a new challenge. The people of Canada want this Government, and all parliamentarians, to rise above partisanship to address the public interest. They want their political leaders to catch up with Canadians' own ambitions for the country and their readiness to take on the world with confidence." He again hammered his points home with the flat of his hand, "Each of us must take responsibility. The Government will do its part to ensure that this minority Parliament works. Working together, we can unite the voices of all Canadians in common purpose."

Andrew rubbed his jaw. "Nice speech," he murmured.

"Will's question was an opportunity to focus on the true issue," Lisa said. "That the Conservatives are going to try to force an election on all of us." She sighed and yawned. "Don't worry, it's nearly over," she reassured. "Once they get done with this, it'll go into routine proceedings; he'll be a couple of hours, but it goes pretty quickly from this point."

Andrew nodded, getting up to sit down behind Will's desk, watching idly as the questions flew thick and fast on the screen. "I don't know how Will does it," he said shaking his head in wonder.

Lisa glanced up, "I think he enjoys it; it gives him a chance to be stubborn and opinionated, two things Will has in abundance."

"That's true," Andrew said with a grin.

"So," Lisa put the pen and paper down and gave Andrew a stern look, "are you two sleeping together again?"

Andrew stopped in shock. "What?" He gave his head a shake as he looked at her in surprise.

"It's a fair question..." Lisa began as Alicia hurried back into the room.

"You need to hear this," she said turning up the volume.

"...in light of the recent events, the flagrant acts of aggression perpetrated by these insurgents on Canadian soil," Hesston was reading from his carefully prepared speech, "I wish to bring forward a motion that the Government of Canada honour the obligations of its alliance with the United States and Great Britain and commit troops and resources to stabilizing Iraq..."

"Jesus," Lisa murmured, "he's going for it..."

"Can he do that?" Andrew asked in disbelief.

"He can introduce a motion insisting that government declare war," she said shaking her head as she got up and started punching numbers into her phone.

"But the government can refuse, right?" Andrew asked, uncertain about the procedures.

"Yes, it's only an insistence, but Hesston can... yes, hello, this is Mister Carter's Office, I'd like to speak to... yes, I'll hold."

"So, even though the government's outvoted it still has the right to say no, so what's the problem?" Andrew leaned on the desk looking at her, and glancing over his shoulder at the heated debate raging in Parliament over what was going on.

"The problem is the Conservatives have a loaded gun, and it's Liberal hunting season..." She cursed, still on hold, covering the receiver looking up at the screen as the vote was called. "This is going to hurt."

* * *

"Mister Carter, Toronto-Centre," the Speaker called, as Will turned and inclined his head towards the Speaker, indicating his intention to vote against the motion, sitting down as the Speaker carried on through the ranks.

He closed his eyes, and rested his fingers against his temple as he swallowed, knowing full well it ran against everything he believed in to vote no. His father might be alive now if Canada had voted yes when the war had been declared. But he couldn't go against his own party and his constituents who wanted no part of an American war for oil.

He opened his eyes to look across the floor at Hesston who was watching him closely, a sly smile spreading across the Conservative Leader's face, knowing exactly what was going through Will's mind.

"It's going to be close," Thorpe commented, leaning close to speak into Will's ear.

Will looked up. "One-fifty to one-fifty-three," he said, the numbers already calculated before him.

"Damn," Thorpe murmured leaning back in his seat. "This is a hell of a way to start."

"It's only a recommendation," Will reminded. "Only we can actually make the call to send in troops."

"And we're going to be dragged through the mud until we do," Thorpe replied, looking up at the Speaker who rose to receive the results of the vote.

It went exactly as Will had predicted; the Speaker nodded his head, "I declare the motion carried."

Hesston was on his feet, amidst the din of the chamber, as the Speaker acknowledged him. Smiling like a cat who had gotten the canary as he addressed the chamber, "Mister Speaker, we have just voted on a motion that was agreed to on a clear majority, a motion which calls upon the government to act"

He looked challengingly across the hall, "By all the established conventions of our democratic system, when the government faces a clear vote on such a question, it is required to do one of three things: act upon the recommendation, resign; to seek a dissolution, or at the earliest moment, to ensure that it has the confidence of this chamber, which is the only democratic mandate this government has." He stepped down and pointed forcefully across the chamber at Thorpe, "Since I understand that the Prime Minister, in his desire to retain power at any cost, has refused to do..."

The room exploded.

"Order!" the Speaker called desperately. "The honourable Leader of the Opposition is trying to raise a point of order..."

Hesston smiled smugly, "Since obviously the newly appointed Prime Minister doesn't have the confidence of this House, I move that this House now adjourn!"

The Speaker rose again, holding up his hands to still the ruckus around him. "The question is on the motion," he said desperately. "Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?"

"Agreed," came a number of MP's battling a loud chorus of "No!" from the opposite side.

"All those in favour of the motion will please say yea," the Speaker intoned.

"Yea!" resounded like thunder around the chamber.

"All those opposed will please say nay."

"Nay," echoed the beleaguered Liberals.

"In my opinion the yeas have it," the Speaker said, rising. "I declare the motion carried and accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order Twenty-Four..."

* * *

"What?" Andrew asked, lost in what was happening.

"Hesston just proved how totally ineffectual the government is," Lisa said, covering the phone again. "He just shut Parliament down for the day after the Liberals lost an important vote."

"So he's what, paralysing the country until he gets his confidence vote?" Andrew asked, blinking.

"Essentially?" Lisa nodded. "Yes. He's out to bring down the government."