Harper's Defamation Action Folds Like an Old Lawnchair

Prime Minister Harper launched a defamation lawsuit against the opposition Liberal party for alleged comments they made allegedly implicating him in an alleged bribing attempt of deceased Independent MP Chuck Cadman for his vote in the Commons. Late Friday it was announced that the action was dropped by Prime Minister Harper.

Sorry to be using “allegedly” so often in this post but since nothing is proven and the combatants have gone silent as a result of the “settlement” of the lawsuit. We know nothing for sure and I don’t want to be sued on this matter either. Too bad the author Tom Zytaruk who taped the interview with Harper that formed the key evidence in this theatre of the absurd did not get an apology from the PM. He obviously deserves one now that Harper has folded.

We can draw some conclusions and implications from these events. Harper’s dropping the suit hardly makes his claim that the Liberal party comments on the issues and allegations were “the biggest mistake they ever made.” High hubris by Harper then and he has some very cold crow to munch on now.

The damage claim in Harper’s law suit for loss of reputation at $3.5m is now reduced to dick and each part pays their own costs in the action. That means that Harper wins nothing and the Liberals lose nothing and neither party will comment further. The downgrading of a political reputation loss allegation from millions to nothing and in fact costing the Plaintiff money for his own legal fees for pursuing the adventure come off like posturing and puffery at best.

This all may mean the Harper is hankering to govern now that he has to admit and accept that the country is in crisis and to stop bullying the opposition as his primary political goal. Heaven knows the country needs him to make the shift. My money says he has not really made the leap and will now be in leadership limbo and drift into disinterest and do neither.