Conservative Leader Stephen Harper glares across the aisle at Prime Minister Paul Martin during Tuesday’s no-confidence vote in the House of Commons in Ottawa.

The Globe and Mail has the latest in firworks at the Canadian Parliament where the Tories are refusing to vote for adjournment:

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper moved what he deemed a no-confidence motion in the government, the second such move made by the Tories in two days.

The party is eager to bring down the government and call an election as soon as possible.
Mr. Harper said the government has “lost the moral authority and democratic legitimacy to govern this country. Madame Speaker, today is one of those more difficult days where it falls to the Leader of the Oppostion to tell the… government that they cannot carry on,” Mr. Harper said in a speech to the House Wednesday afternoon.

He said the Governor General and the Liberals should heed the result and call a general election if they lose the vote.

It passed, and the Commons was adjourned for the day.

But it wasn’t recognized by the Liberals.

It appears to be part of an opposition tactic to continue to push for a confidence motion to be recognized in the House.

On Tuesday night, the Liberals were defeated on what the Tories said was a no-confidence vote in the Commons.

But House Leader Tony Valeri has argued that Tuesday’s motion was merely procedural and therefore didn’t count.

The Liberals have offered to hold a vote on the budget, automatically a confidence motion in the government, next Thursday, May 19.

The Tories say they won’t wait that long.

These machinations have to be antagonizing the Canadian voters.

Paul Martin should step down and call an election.

Conservative MP Darrel Stinson, who is suffering from cancer, calls on the government Wednesday to respect Tuesday’s vote and resign.

Update #1

The Canadian Parliament has now adjourned for one day and will resume session on Thursday. Read the story here:

Prime Minister Paul Martin has called for a vote on the budget for next Thursday, but the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives refused to co-operate, saying they’re not prepared to wait.

Late in the day, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper — who earlier challenged the Prime Minister to either call a confidence vote for Wednesday or resign — introduced what he called another no-confidence motion. It was the second time the Tories did so in two days.

It urged that the Commons be adjourned for one day.

In doing so, the Conservatives hoped again to show that the Liberals are not capable of governing and an election should be called.
The motion passed and the House was adjourned until Thursday.

The government and oppostion MPs, now engaged in a procedural staring match over when a confidence motion will happen, did not hold back during Question Period. Attacks flew back and forth across the benches. At one point during questioning, the Tory MPs could be heard calling the Liberals “jerks.”

Mr. Martin said Mr. Harper’s moves on Wednesday had gone too far.

“I would ask him to demonstrate better judgment. He should set the example,” he said, asking for civility.

“The person that is going too far is the Prime Minister that will not uphold democracy in this House,” Mr. Harper shot back.
The Bloc also called for Mr. Martin to call a vote Wednesday or resign.

But the Prime Minister said he had good reason for delaying, saying British Columbia is holding an election on May 17 and the Queen is visiting Alberta and Saskatchewan next week.

Earlier, he made the announcement that he’d call the budget vote for May 19.

“On Thursday, May 19, I will be in Ottawa. And I am proposing that there be, on that day, a vote on the budget bill. This vote will be a matter of confidence,” Mr. Martin told reporters in Ottawa after an emergency cabinet meeting.

“I believe that Canadians want this budget passed,” Mr. Martin said, adding he believes most people want an election after the final report on the sponsorship scandal from Mr. Justice John Gomery, in December.

However, the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois are determined to force an election, and could have enough MPs to do so. The two sides are virtually in a dead heat for votes.
Should the government be defeated, the earliest date for an election would be June 27.

Mr. Martin recognized that the May 19 vote could be lost.

“If the government loses the vote next Thursday, I will seek the dissolution of this Parliament and Canadians will know that Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe have worked together to force an election less than one year after the last election,” Mr. Martin said.

But Tory Leader Stephen Harper said he refuses to play “games” any longer.

Both he and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said they won’t wait until May 19.

Mr. Harper said Mr. Martin is simply stalling.

“Face the nation, face parliament. If he has a vote he wants us to have, let’s have it today,” Mr. Harper said.

The NDP said Wednesday they don’t want a confidence motion and they called on the Martin government to implement changes they have asked for soon. They say they want to see the budget passed and to see parliament work, for now.

The Tories and Bloc are livid after MPs voted 153—150 in favour of a Conservative motion calling on the government to resign on Tuesday night.

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, who supported the move, said it clearly indicated that the Liberals had lost the confidence of the House and left them unable to effectively govern.

Independent MP Chuck Cadman was unable to attend because he underwent chemotherapy treatments this week.
The Tories also have two ill MPs–Dave Chatters and Darrel Stinson, who were flown in especially for Tuesday’s vote.

Mr. Harper implied that the Prime Minister was asking that a confidence motion on the budget be delayed on purpose because several Tories are ill. “We’re not going to play [games] another week so that he can hope the health of some members of Parliament deteriorates,” Mr. Harper said.

He was attacked for the comments by House Leader Tony Valeri.
“That’s about as low as you can get.”

Mr. Chatters and Mr. Stinson stood up in the House of Commons and asked Mr. Martin why he would not allow a vote Wednesday, given the gravity of their illnesses.

The Liberals say the vote was on a procedural matter — the motion asked the public accounts committee to rewrite a report so that it called on the government to resign — and did not represent a true measure of confidence of the Liberals’ ability to govern effectively.

The latest turn in Canada’s already volatile political situation comes as polls suggest both the Liberals and Conservatives are running neck-and-neck (31 per cent for the Tories and 27 per cent for the Grits) ahead of a potential election.

If the government fell, it would mean an election around 10 months after Canadians last went to the polls.

The Conservatives have cited outrage over damaging allegations against the Liberals at the Gomery inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal as necessitating an election.

The Globe and Mail has the story on the contentious Question Period today:

Prime Minister Paul Martin has called for a vote on the budget for next Thursday, but the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives refused to co-operate, saying they’re not prepared to wait, and want a vote today.

The government and oppostion MPs, now engaged in a procedural staring match over when a confidence motion will happen, did not hold back during Question Period. Attacks flew back and forth across the benches. At one point during questioning, the Tory MPs could be heard calling the Liberals “jerks.”

Opposition Leader Stephen Harper challenged the Prime Minister to either call a confidence vote for today or resign.

Mr. Martin said he had gone too far.

“I would ask him to demonstrate better judgment. He should set the example,” he said, asking for civility.

“The person that is going too far is the Prime Minister that will not uphold democracy in this House,” Mr. Harper shot back.
The Bloc also called for Mr. Martin to call a vote Wednesday or resign.

But the Prime Minister said he had good reason for delaying, saying British Columbia is holding an election on May 17 and the Queen is visiting Alberta and Saskatchewan next week.

Earlier, he made the announcement that he’d call the budget vote for May 19.

“On Thursday, May 19, I will be in Ottawa. And I am proposing that there be, on that day, a vote on the budget bill. This vote will be a matter of confidence,” Mr. Martin told reporters in Ottawa after an emergency cabinet meeting.

“I believe that Canadians want this budget passed,” Mr. Martin said, adding he believes most people want an election after the final report on the sponsorship scandal from Mr. Justice John Gomery, in December.

However, the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois are determined to force an election, and could have enough MPs to do so. The two sides are virtually in a dead heat for votes.
Should the government be defeated, the earliest date for an election would be June 27.

Mr. Martin recognized that the May 19 vote could be lost.

“If the government loses the vote next Thursday, I will seek the dissolution of this Parliament and Canadians will know that Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe have worked together to force an election less than one year after the last election,” Mr. Martin said.

But Tory Leader Stephen Harper said he refuses to play “games” any longer.

Both he and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said they won’t wait until May 19.

Mr. Harper said Mr. Martin is simply stalling.

“Face the nation, face parliament. If he has a vote he wants us to have, let’s have it today,” Mr. Harper said.

The NDP said Wednesday they don’t want a confidence motion and they called on the Martin government to implement changes they have asked for soon. They say they want to see the budget passed and to see parliament work, for now.
Meanwhile, Tory House Leader John Reynolds said to expect more tactics from opposition Wednesday afternoon.

Some are speculating that the opposition parties could ask that the House be adjourned for the day. The Tories and Bloc are livid after MPs voted 153—150 in favour of a Conservative motion calling on the government to resign on Tuesday night.

The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois, who supported the move, said it clearly indicated that the Liberals had lost the confidence of the House and left them unable to effectively govern.

Independent MP Chuck Cadman was unable to attend because he underwent chemotherapy treatments this week.
The Tories also have two ill MPs–Dave Chatters and Darrel Stinson, who were flown in especially for Tuesday’s vote.

Mr. Harper implied that the Prime Minister was asking that a confidence motion on the budget be delayed on purpose because several Tories are ill. “We’re not going to play another week so that he can hope the health of some members of Parliament deteriorates,” Mr. Harper said.

He was attacked for the comments by House Leader Tony Valeri.
“That’s about as low as you can get.”

Mr. Chatters and Mr. Stinson stood up in the House of Commons and asked Mr. Martin why he would not allow a vote Wednesday, given the gravity of their illnesses.

The Liberals say the vote was on a procedural matter — the motion asked the public accounts committee to rewrite a report so that it called on the government to resign — and did not represent a true measure of confidence of the Liberals’ ability to govern effectively.

The latest turn in Canada’s already volatile political situation comes as polls suggest both the Liberals and Conservatives are running neck-and-neck (31 per cent for the Tories and 27 per cent for the Grits) ahead of a potential election.

If the government fell, it would mean an election around 10 months after Canadians last went to the polls.

The Conservatives have cited outrage over damaging allegations against the Liberals at the Gomery inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal as necessitating an election.

Captain Ed over at Captains Quarter’s has his take on the events here.

The Conservatives must have been doing some polling.

Times up Mr. Prime Minister.

Call for an election!

Opposition members of Parliament managed to force a motion through the Canadian House of Commons Tuesday demanding the fragile Liberal minority government step down.

The Globe and Mail has the story here:

The Liberals, however, say they don’t consider the move a true no-confidence motion and won’t resign.

But the success of the effort deals another blow to a government desperately trying to stave off an election until the dust settles around the federal sponsorship scandal.

Tuesday’s motion passed by a razor-thin margin, with 153 MPs — representing a union of Conservatives and members of the Bloc Québécois — voting in favour, while 150 voted against it.

The result drew applause from the Bloc and Conservatives in the House.

“I would challenge the Prime Minister if he believes he has the constitutional authority to govern, that he rise in the House and call for a vote of confidence,” Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said.

Outside the house, Mr. Harper also said that the Conservatives would take “additional steps to deal with this situation tomorrow,” saying the government is ignoring the democratic will of Parliament.

During a press conference earlier in the day, Liberal House Leader Tony Valeri called Tuesday’s motion — which asks the public accounts committee to rewrite a report so that it calls on the government to resign — “procedural” and said the government would remain in power until the Opposition mounted a valid confidence vote.

The Liberals Tuesday offered to schedule three opposition days during which MPs can introduce such a measure in the house.

The vote capped a tumultuous day on Parliament Hill, with all sides circling their wagons.

Conservative MPs were arriving in full force for the vote, with at least two seriously ill MPs — Darrel Stinson and David Chatters — flying in from their sick beds in Western Canada.

During question period, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe called the vote a “moment of truth” for Prime Minister Paul Martin’s minority government.

“Will the prime minister respect the will of the elected representatives of the people, recognize that he no longer has the trust and confidence of the house and call an election?” he asked.

But Mr. Martin reiterated that opposition parties will have their chance to topple the government — just not on Tuesday.

“There will be other opportunities,” he said.

“Certainly with respect to the budget, and there are opposition days as well.”

The Liberals response to the vote is a joke and the Canadian people should demand Paul Martin step down and call elections immediately.

These type of machinations have lead to revolutions and Coup D’etats before.

Update #1

The Washington Post has this story here:

Following a raucous session of Parliament in Ottawa, Stephen Harper, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party, demanded the resignation. “We have in office a corrupt party which now is ignoring the democratically expressed will of the House of Commons,” Harper said. “This government does not have the moral authority and the constitutional authority to govern.”

Although considered merely procedural by the ruling Liberal Party, Canada’s political crisis could come to a head late Tuesday afternoon when the Conservatives bring forward a motion calling for the Liberals to step down.

The vote is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. EDT.

The Globe and Mail has the story here:

The failure of a the Liberal minority government to recognize a successful vote calling for its resignation would mark a new low in Canadian political history, Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay said Tuesday.

The Conservatives, with the backing of the Bloc Québécois, insist the motion is one of no confidence, and early indications suggest they may have the numbers to get the vote through.

The Liberals argue, however, that the motion is procedural rather than one of confidence, so they will not recognize it. That position continued to trigger outrage among opposition members Tuesday.

“Well, I think that that will be, perhaps, one of the lowest points in Canadian history,” Mr. MacKay told CBC Newsworld.

“If we see a government so desperate, so self-motivated, and clinging to power and ignore the democratic will of the house of commons, I think we would have hit a new low point in our Canadian history.”

Although the numbers are close, they appear to favour the Conservatives narrowly. Two Tory MPs with cancer are being flown in for the vote, while B.C. independent Chuck Cadman — expected to support the Liberals — is likely to be absent following chemotherapy treatment on Monday.

So, would this spur a parliamentary crisis which the Canadian courts would have to sort out? Or will the Liberals simply ignore this motion.

Stay tuned.

The Globe and Mail has the story regarding the Canadian House of Commons debate on a motion by the Conservative Party which calls on the Public Accounts committee “to recommend that the government resign because of its failure to address the deficiencies in governance of the public service.”

Ottawa — The House of Commons erupted in a fiery debate over an opposition effort to topple the Liberal government as early as Tuesday.

The Conservatives tabled a motion Monday that calls for the government to resign. The Speaker of the House ruled it was in order despite Liberal arguments to the contrary.

Still, it’s unlikely the government will consider the vote a matter of confidence.

The Liberals had already dismissed a similar motion as a procedural matter and said they would continue governing even if they lost that vote, which is to come May 18.

But the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois insist that Tuesday’s votes will have dire political consequences.

“The Liberals must admit that the hour of truth is upon us,” said Bloc MP Michel Guimond.

“If the government loses the vote the government loses power. Full stop.

“And the Prime Minister would have to go back to the Governor-General,” to ask that an election be called.

The motion was debated in the Commons on Monday and the opposition says it will come to a vote Tuesday.

Stay Tuned!

Prime Minister Paul Martin walks past opposition leaders Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephen Harper at a Second World War remembrance ceremony in Amersfoort, Netherlands, Monday.

The Globe and Mail reports today that $300,000 in cash has gone from Adscam sources to Liberal Party electoral efforts:

Senior Liberal organizers allegedly showered about $300,000 in cash on Quebec ridings held by the opposition during the 1997 federal election campaign, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Michel Béliveau, a close supporter of former prime minister Jean Chrétien, made the allegation in preliminary interviews with members of the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship program.

Mr. Béliveau is scheduled to testify today about allegedly receiving the cash from Jacques Corriveau, another Liberal supporter and close friend of Mr. Chrétien, who got millions through the sponsorship program in the 1990s.

The testimony would be the first by a Liberal official describing illicit cash transactions in contravention of Canada’s electoral laws. It builds on allegations from Jean Brault, former president of Groupaction Marketing Inc., who told the inquiry of secret payments to Liberal officials in the 1990s and early 2000s — including payments to Mr. Corriveau he was told were “for the cause.”

Mr. Béliveau was the director-general of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party when he allegedly asked for the money from Mr. Corriveau.

Mr. Béliveau said he later received $75,000 to $100,000 in an envelope full of $20 and $100 bills from Mr. Corriveau.

“Only Mr. Corriveau and Mr. Béliveau were in the room. Mr. Béliveau did not provide him with a receipt,” a confidential record of the interview says.

Mr. Béliveau said the rest of the money — $200,000 — was given to another Liberal organizer in Eastern Quebec, former provincial Liberal minister Marc-Yvan Cote.

His allegation contradicts the Martin government’s position that the problems in the program were caused by a “parallel group” of rogue Liberals.

The cash was used to prop up Liberal organizations in “orphan ridings,” Mr. Béliveau said, referring to the expression used in Liberal circles to describe ridings held by other parties. The ridings were evaluated before the campaign and found to be short of cash, he said.

Mr. Béliveau said he was unaware at the time that Mr. Corriveau was acting for some of the biggest recipients of sponsorship funds. Over the years, Mr. Corriveau earned almost $8-million in sponsorship subcontracts, often through fake or inflated invoices, according to evidence at the Gomery inquiry.

“Mr. Beliveau points out that he never thought the money could come from a governmental program. Mr. Corriveau never informed him of the origin of the funds,” the document says.

The secret report, called a “will say,” has been circulated to the various parties that are officially involved in the Gomery inquiry’s proceedings. Mr. Béliveau is not bound to stick to those statements when he testifies under oath.

Still, his allegation follows other claims of massive transfers of sponsorship cash into the hands of Liberal organizers.

Mr. Béliveau’s successor, Benoît Corbeil, has said in news-media interviews that he once received tens of thousands of dollars in cash from Groupaction to pay off Liberal organizers during the 2000 election. Mr. Corbeil is also high on the list of coming witnesses at the Gomery inquiry, where he has promised to name the recipients of the cash payments.

In addition, Mr. Brault has told the inquiry that he gave about $1-million in various contributions to the Liberals between 1996 and 2002, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash to another Liberal fundraiser, Joe Morselli.

The former Groupaction president said he also paid about $500,000 in fees to Mr. Corriveau, who had allegedly told Mr. Brault the money was going to the Liberal Party.

In his appearance before the inquiry last month, Mr. Corriveau rejected all allegations of illicit payoffs, saying he only made officially registered donations to the Liberal Party and helped sell tickets to party events.

“I was known as a good ticket salesman,” he said.

Mr. Morselli is also set to appear before the commission, where he will be asked about the alleged cash transactions with Mr. Brault.

Mr. Béliveau, who is now retired, is a psychologist who long worked in the school system in the Mauricie region of Quebec, where he first met Mr. Chrétien in 1965. Among other partisan activities, he ran local election campaigns for Mr. Chrétien on many occasions.

Named director-general of the Liberal Party’s office in Montreal in 1996, Mr. Béliveau remained in that position until 1998. He said he never informed any of his political superiors about the cash transactions.

“Mr. Béliveau did not inform the electoral commission nor the political minister for Quebec of these transfers of funds, nor any minister nor the prime minister nor the party’s board of directors,” the document says.

Mr. Béliveau added that he takes full responsibility for his actions, which were in part fuelled by the Liberal Party’s financial difficulties in Quebec at the time.

“According to him, the management position that he held calls on him to assume the consequences today,” the document says.

Captain Ed over at Captain’s Quarters has this:

…If Béliveau testifies as predicted, it will mark the first real threads of electoral fraud perpetrated by the Liberals through the Adscam monies. So far, the Gomery Inquiry has documented plenty of personal enrichment at the expense of the Canadian taxpayers, and even Liberal Party featherbedding at favored ad agencies, but this will demonstrate that the primary purpose of Adscam was to get unregulated cash into the hands of Liberal Party leaders in order to gain an unfair, and unregulated, advantage over the other parties.

Béliveau’s recollection that he received the money from Corriveau and from provincial Liberal minister Marc-Yvan Cote makes it more difficult for Martin to pretend that a small, breakaway contingent of Liberal ministers created the entire Adscam issue. That cash went directly to ridings in Quebec held by other parties and which chronically ran short on cash for the Liberals. The sudden infusion of a large amount of money had to be noticed by many within the party structure, especially since funds weren’t coming from any other source. That would appear to implicate a large portion of the Liberal Party in Quebec with responsibility to keep the books for election contributions and outlays, and not just a couple of renegade Grits playing cowboy.

The picture keeps getting more focused even as the conspiracies continue to widen…

The Liberal Party hacks are as dirty as their bosses.

Flap says sparks will fly next week after everyone’s return from Europe.

Jacques Corriveau, former president of Pluri-Design, answers questions about one of his invoices during his testimony at the Gomery commission

CNews Canada has the following pieces on the events today in the Gomery Inquiry:
PM, Manley knew of plan, says Guite
Brault, Guite fraud trial delayed
Guite earned over $1M from ad firms
Gagliano aide replaced Guite
Chretien’s office allegedly awarded deals
Guite says contracts ‘politically driven’
Guite’s credibility the key issue
Chretien’s wife picked souvenir watches
Tories say new testimony shows Martin linked to sponsorship scandal

Key players in the federal sponsorship program – including Jacques Corriveau and Jean Lafleur – were apparently discussing sponsorship-like events months before the program officially existed, new evidence at the Gomery inquiry indicates.

Documents and testimony also suggest then-prime minister Jean Chretien’s office was advised of the potential projects in April 1995.

A memo sent that month carries a heading labelled “Jacques Corriveau” and refers to the fact that a list of projects had been submitted to Jean Carle, Chretien’s director of operations.

It’s not clear whether the list, including proposed funding for nine projects totalling $2.3 million, was submitted directly by Corriveau or by somebody else.

Among the proposed recipients were the Montreal Grand Prix, the Expos baseball club, the Toronto Molson Inday car race, and a number of other oganizations that later figured prominently in the sponsorship program.

Read the rest here.

Captain Ed over at Captain’s Quarters has discovered redacted testimony regarding Chuck Guité’s testimony at the Gomery Inquiry:

….So let’s make sure everyone is clear on this. Brault works through Chuck Guité in order to make sure that he gets as much access to government contracts through the former Liberal minister. He pays Guité hundreds of thousands of dollars, income liable for taxation. Suddenly Guité asks for a loan based on a deal closing that will result in large fees coming from Groupaction so that he can buy a boat without incurring some sort of capital-gains tax, and Brault gives him another $25,000 for a year at below-market interest. (Brault could have made more money opening a savings account.) Not only did Guité skip paying Brault even the interest due on the loan, however, he continued to demand fees from Groupaction far exceeding the amount of the loan.

Does it occur to anyone that this money not only avoided taxes, but also could easily have avoided scrutiny as a political payoff?

At any rate, the Canadian taxman will certainly take notice of this money now. It looks like Guité may need to file an amended tax return for 2001 sometime in the next few months.

There is no reason to ban this testimony or any of it from publication. IT is obvious to Flap that these guys have cut a deal with the prosecutors and are ready to spill the beans on the Liberal Party and Paul Martin.

They sold their souls to the comapny store and now are willing to sell out their former sugar daddies in order to save their own sorry asses.

Stay tuned…..it will only get better.

The Globe and Mail has the latest on the Canadian Adscam Scandel and the involvement of Prime Minister Paul Martin:

When he was still finance minister, Paul Martin was one of three cabinet ministers who intervened to make sure that a Toronto ad agency wouldn’t lose its lucrative government contracts if it was to be sold to a foreign conglomerate, the Gomery inquiry has been told.

The startling claim linking the prime minister to the Adscam scandal was made at the inquiry headed by Mr. Justice John Gomery by Chuck Guité, the former head of the federal sponsorship program.

Mr. Guité’s testimony last week was under publication ban until Judge Gomery lifted the embargo Wednesday. A Quebec Superior Court judge temporarily placed the ban back on his testimony but later allowed the details to be published.

Martin spokesman Scott Reid dismissed the testimony as a third-hand — and false — allegation.

“The prime minister never involved himself in the contracting process — never involved himself in the determination of contract awards. Period,” Mr. Reid told The Canadian Press

While troubling, the allegation against Mr. Martin is based on hearsay from someone who has since died and cannot be called before the inquiry.

However, any allegation involving Mr. Martin will likely be seized on by opposition politicians keener on attacking the current prime minister than talking about the more substantial accusations against his predecessor’s entourage.

Beyond the allegation involving Mr. Martin, Mr. Guité’s testimony was a sweeping indictment of a federal procurement system which, he said, was geared toward rewarding friends of the party in power with profitable ad contracts….

Read the rest here.

CTV has the story here.

Update #1

Captain Ed over at Captain’s Quarter’s has this.

The handwriting is on the wall: Paul Martin is DIRTY in Adscam.

The people of Canada are entitled to vote on his government. Look for the no-confidence vote push next week when government leaders return from Europe.

A mid-summers night dream(election) = a new Prime Minister.