Canada may be viewed as a
dull country full of overly earnest politicians, but there are days
when its politics can amaze. Such a moment arrived this morning when
Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin pulled a rabbit from a previously
unseen hat that may yet save his government from falling in a
confidence vote on Thursday.

This morning he held a joint
press conference with Conservative MP Belinda Stronach, announcing she
was leaving her party and joining the Liberal cabinet.

Stronach
was one of the country’s leading businesswomen who entered politics
last year after running for the leadership of the newly formed
Conservative Party. She is from the liberal wing of the conservatives,
one of the few Conservatives to vote for gay marriage in the recent
debate, and also warning of the problems of bringing on an early
election at this time.

But where this whole defection becomes
personal is the fact that Stronach’s boyfriend is Conservative MP Peter
McKay, the last leader of the Progressive Conservatives and one of the
Conservatives leading frontbenchers. Even Canadians, so polite in
discussing these sorts of issues, are very amused that such a vast
political gulf could have developed between two leading political
figures in a close personal relationship.

The full story is on the site here.