Specific concerns

Well in advance of today's Throne Speech, both the NDP and the Bloc clearly set out their demands from a policy perspective, both offering some vision of where they want to see the government go and declaring inferentially that the Harper government's direction would be evaluated on the merits. Which would seem to me to be the proper role of an opposition party.

But then there are the Libs, who apparently more interested in critiquing the Cons' writing style:

Be specific in throne speech: Liberals...

Federal Liberals say a worried public deserves to hear specific plans and specific reassurances from the Conservative government in the throne speech that opens Parliament.

Ontario MP John McCallum says the country is facing its biggest economic crisis in decades and the Harper government has an obligation to provide clear answers to questions related to the auto sector and private-sector pensions.

While McCallum is quoted mentioning a couple of policy suggestions, those are apparently only an afterthought for the Libs. Instead, their primary message to the Cons is utterly devoid of substantive content, sounding better suited for the instructions accompanying a written test than a debate over public policy.

And that's a problem for more than just the Libs as a party. After all, both the NDP and the Bloc have laid the groundwork for the Cons to face rightful criticism if they don't do enough to help Canadians who are suffering as a result of the economic downturn. And one would think the best way to solidify public concerns about the Harper government would be to amplify that message.

Instead, the Libs have gone out of their way to frame the throne speech based on form rather than content. And that figures to make it far easier for Harper to deflect attention from the likely failings of his government's direction.