Failed coup attempt worked out best forLiberals

They say hindsight is 20-20 and for the federal Liberal party that perfect vision shows one thing - the party was saved when its plans of six months ago did not come to fruition.
Looking back, it's been six months since the attempted coup by the Liberals and the NDP, along with the voting support of the Bloc Quebecois, to form a coalition government.
While I have no qualms with coalition governments, I just think a party needs to let voters know upfront, during an election, that it could form a coalition with specific parties. There was no such disclosure during last fall's federal election.
Although more than half of the country did not vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives, it was made quite clear through opinion polls that the majority of Canadians also did not want the proposed coalition government, with Stephane Dion at the helm, to take power.
But try the opposition parties did. In the end, the prime minister was saved by the governor general's decision to give him his requested prorogation of Parliament, putting off any possible vote to defeat the government.
On the surface, this could have been viewed as a loss for the Liberals but now, six months later, it was clearly a victory.
The possibility there could still be a coalition formed after Parliament's resumption in January forced the Liberal party to speed up its lengthy leadership election process. The two opponents to frontrunner Michael Ignatieff got out of the way, allowing him to take over from Dion much earlier than planned.
Suddenly, the Liberals went from floundering under a wishy-washy leader who had very little credibility left, to being led by a man who was much more respected by Canadians in general, and Quebecois in particular.
The next solid step was Ignatieff's decision to shelve the coalition idea and try to work together with Harper. This also helped buoy the Liberals' chances because it showed the party was ready to more than just be contrary and lust after power.
Now, it's six months later and Ignatieff sits with a slight lead in the polls. As well, the party is showing patience before bringing down the government and forcing a new election.
All of this has improved the fortunes of a party that, six months ago, was reeling from one of its worst electoral defeats ever and was not getting any more popular in the eyes of Canadians.
Had the coalition succeeded with Dion as a prime minister, even for a short period of time, there's a good chance Harper would have been able to walk away from the next election with his highly sought after majority.
Now, according to the polls, he could be hard pressed to hold onto his minority government the next time Canadians vote.
What a difference six months makes.

Jason Small can be reached at 691-1255.