Bill Graham as Interim Leader

I would like to congratulate Bill Graham on being the next interim leader. I've always had a high respect for him as both the foreign affairs minister and defence minister so I believe he will do a good job of holding the government to account while at the same time proposing positive solutions. In addition he is neither a strong Chretienite or Martinite so hopefully he can keep the two factions together.

As for handling the next parliament, I don't believe the Liberals should try to trigger another election at the earliest moment possible. The party needs time to re-build, but also I suspect an early election unless there was a good reason for it would result in an even stronger Conservative minority or possibly a Conservative majority. At the same time, the Liberals shouldn't give Stephen Harper a free pass. They should cooperate where they can, but clearly set clear parameters. On individual bills, they should vote as they normally would since all bills except budget bills and main estimates are not motions of confidence, so the government can continue if they lose one. As for the budget, they should not automatically endorse it, but they should instead try to work to improve it and only vote against it if the Tories refuse to compromise. If the Tories refuse to compromise, then I believe they have a legitimate reason to bring down the government as this is a minority government and the Conservatives do not have a mandate to proceed on issues that don't have the support of other parties.