The reviews are in

James Travers:

Conservatives are tilting in the wrong direction. Their stimulus plan skews to the past, rarely lifting its eyes to the horizons of education, research or funding for green or venture industries.

Piling on secrecy, the Prime Minister ludicrously argues that speedy spending and public accountability are so incompatible that he needs a slushy $3 billion fund of the discredited type that funnelled millions into what became the Quebec sponsorship scandal.

Along with the NDP, Liberals are right to balk at Harper's spend now, explain later boondoggle. Still, it isn't certain Liberals are ready to manage the bigger economic issues any better. Stronger leadership has yet to bring clear definition to a party that never quite gets around to seriously considering its purpose beyond regaining power.

Lost in all this is an opportunity. Momentous events are shifting national governments back to the centre of public life. There they can either meet this century's first great fiscal test or fritter their time and our money playing politics.