The first step

A quick reminder to those who have seized on Chantal Hebert's column as a possible harbinger of a near-term coalition between the NDP and the Libs, particularly in the wake of Stephen Harper's subsequent prorogation of Parliament.

At last notice, there were two opposition leaders who were willing to cooperate with others to try to ensure that Canada gets better government than what it's received under the Cons. And there was one who, having decided he preferred continued Harper government to an available alternative, decided to run screaming from the very idea of a coalition any time it was mentioned.

Which isn't to say that talk about a coalition can't or shouldn't happen now. But if it's going to, a necessary first step is for Michael Ignatieff to publicly repudiate the aggressive anti-coalition stance which he took over the past year - both as a signal to the NDP that it's worth its time to come back to the table, and to shift the political cost/benefit analysis to suggest there's some chance that he'll follow through with a coalition rather than cutting and running again.