The Harper rules

The jury is still out on how much change there is between the list of Con policy resolutions posted by National Newswatch and the final one.

But it's worth noting a rather striking proposal just three pages into the list now available. Apparently due to some concern about the fact that ministers now theoretically "have authority" over their porfolios, the Cons' central command is looking to eliminate that from the party's statement of principles - while at the same time leaving the blame at the departmental level.

Of course, that may be a matter of reflecting Harper's actual control over his cabinet rather than any change in what the Cons actually do. But surely it says plenty about the Cons' caucus that it's focused on little more than further entrenching the combination of top-down power and lower-level responsibility.