Set for a spring rumble?

Well, will it be a spring election?

Prime Minister Harper knows he can't call an election - public opinion wouldn't be too accepting, many say - but some believe he could trick the opposition into causing one.

Recent polls have the governing Tories ahead of the Liberals by nine points. It's not a majority scenario - yet - but it’s getting closer.

No wonder.

The Liberal Party, of which Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison is a member, is no longer the party he joined when the long-awaited Paul Martin was leader; or even the one for which he was vying for the leadership a few short months ago.

Many Liberals seem to have forgotten the reason they are out of office, perhaps for many years to come: the corruption and arrogance of the Jean Chretien years, the sponsorship scandal being the top issue - unfortunately besmirching the electoral chances even of Chretien's long-awaited, more realistic successor Paul Martin Jr., who probably would have been one of the greats. Oh, well.

But the tangled Liberal situation is only one reason for the Harper Tories’ rise in fortunes.

Let's face it: the Tories are doing quite well. I certainly had no idea Stephen Harper would come out this strong - ever. Few did.

As new - and, by most folks, unexpected - Liberal leader Stephane Dion stumbles about getting even better known, Harper looks more and more decisive, more comfortable with where he seems to belong - in power.

I know it's nickle-anty stuff in many cases, but the GST cut was a hit and the sports credit for kids and the tax credit for working folks are there - putting emphasis where real people really want it: on their families. As well, the concepts of security - in the home, on the street and in the international arena - are high on the Tory (and the public's) list. Big ideas such as the environment and saving humanity from its own foibles are fine, but let's keep it simple and real: how to support the family, every family.

That concept is not bound by political ideology. The Nova Scotia NDP has found out how well that works, and has been a solid opposition power for years - with a realistic eye for government.

Militarily, the Tories have given much more emphasis to the sharp end of Canadian international power. Mind you, the blue Liberal Martin had begun the process, but was hobbled by elements in his party. General Staff Chief Gen. Rick Hillier had it right when he said the military had been through a dark decade. It wasn't all budget cutting; it was attitude, an attitude Chretien didn't even try to hide.

Meanwhile, the NDP, which has much more important things to do, is duking it out with the Green Party way over in the left corner on the environment. Again, NDP leader Jack Layton had better get in tune with his Nova Scotia confreres - before his federal party goes all to hell fretting over lofty issues while the country craves real alternatives.

The environment will be here long after any election. The real issue is, how do we fit our industry and economy to not only cope with what has to be done, but to actually benefit from it?

Giving some countries cart blanche to pollute as they develop and paying underdeveloped countries not to industrialize isn't the answer - though the Liberals, Greens and NDP don't seem to grasp that.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for a political rumble in the next few months. Hell, this time around may even warrant getting cable for 24-hour coverage.