All for show

The Cons' pre-budget PR blitz now includes some attempt to distance themselves from the fiscal update fiasco and other glaring examples of putting partisanship above all. But it's worth noting that even the Cons' sources aren't pretending that message is anything more than a temporary facade:

Last fall's economic statement led to the creation of the Liberal-NDP coalition and the near-death of the government. Government officials have pointed fingers at Mr. Giorno, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and at Mr. Harper himself for the statement and its inclusion of such initiatives as suspending the public service's right to strike and the effort to eliminate voter subsidies to political parties.

While nobody has been reprimanded for the November difficulties, it now appears clear the government wants to send a message that it has learned its lesson...

One Tory insider also said that the PMO has sent out messages that individual ministers are not to draw attention to themselves during the budget process by pushing forward controversial ideas.

"There's a sense now that now's not the time for gimmicks," said the Tory. "We just have to appear serious at this stage. We can't appear to be poking our fingers in people's eyes."

The obvious first problem with the Cons' apparent position lies in their continued focus on perception rather than reality. Instead of showing any actual contrition for their past faults or even trying to do better for the future, they're once again looking to do nothing more than paper over the continued problems with Con government in order to survive the impending confidence vote.

All of which means that the Cons' strategy can be summed up in a familiar line:

Sincerity - If you can fake that, you've got it made.

Now, the Cons may well be clueless enough to think that a display of Groucho Marxism should somehow pacify the opposition parties. But Canadians who are expecting a serious response to the economic downturn only have all the more reason to be skeptical about the Cons' continued focus on appearances over substance.

What's more, it's implicit in the insider's statement that the Cons are perfectly happy to resort to gimmicks when the timing is right - or indeed to "(poke) fingers in people's eyes" as long as they can avoid the public appearance of doing so. And a civil servant sourced for the Globe's article confirms what we can expect if Harper is left in power:

When asked whether Mr. Harper would have done so much consulting without the sword of the coalition hanging over his head, the bureaucrat said "no way, no way. This isn't in their DNA. They're playing against type here."

That should offer another sure signal of what can be expected after the budget: any vote of confidence in Harper will only encourage him to resume his usual micromanagement and hyperpartisanship. And no amount of panicked messaging in the face of the democratic coalition will change that reality.