Scott Stinson, National Post · Jun. 4, 2011 | Last Updated: Jun. 4, 2011 4:13 AM ET
Jack Layton knows he lost, right? He hasn't been duped into thinking that he holds some sort of power in the 41st Parliament, as though this is a wacky sitcom plot?
Because a Three's Company-style misunderstanding would at least explain the curious way in which the leader of the Official Opposition continues to frame his criticisms of the government.
After the Governor-General delivered a Speech from the Throne on Friday that was entirely predictable as a recitation of Conservative campaign messages, Mr. Layton told reporters that he thought it was disappointing. Fair enough. You can't expect him to say he thought it was a masterful piece of oratory behind which the whole country should unite.
But he carried on. "This was really just a recitation of what they've said before," he said. Or, put another way, the government was following through on its election promises.
Then the reaction became stranger still. Mr. Layton complained that the speech did not include any of the items that were high on the list of NDP priorities, and he said he expected that the Tories would show some willingness to work with the other parties in the House of Commons. He said he was disappointed that the Conservatives, who "only received 40% of the vote," weren't pledging to be more cooperative with the opposition.
"I don't see the government looking different than before, and that's the problem," Mr. Layton said.
The NDP leader is essentially arguing that because of the results of the May 2 election, in which the Conservatives strengthened their mandate from a minority government to one with majority control of both houses of Parliament, Stephen Harper should make a greater effort to adopt opposition policy.
Mr. Layton's logic is exactly backward. Since the moment on May 2 when the Tories passed the 155-seat mark, they were relieved of any pressure they might have previously felt toward deal-making.
It made sense when, in a minority government situation, Mr. Layton argued that the Conservatives couldn't simply ignore the opposition parties and do whatever it pleased. In fact, he would often accuse the Prime Minister of "governing as though he had a majority" when it appeared the Conservatives were unwilling to seek compromise, which only makes his apparent dismay at the Tory decision to govern as though they have a majority when they actually have a majority so strange.
There are of course many reasons why the Harper Conservatives might choose to work with one of the other parties in the coming weeks and months, but it's Mr. Layton's insistence on acting as though they should feel compelled to do so that is so out of place. It's a trend that began on election night, when he took to a stage in Toronto and gave a speech that sounded more like a victory address than it did a speech by the second-place finisher in a majority Parliament. He's continued with that type of talk, vowing that the NDP will press for change and declaring that the Conservatives must listen to their policy proposals. He seems to be the last person to accept that even though the NDP tripled its seat count in the election, its ability to force change has been greatly diminished.
The Liberals and the Greens also released responses to the Speech from the Throne on Friday. They didn't like it either. But, tellingly, neither party suggested that Mr. Harper was overstating his mandate by choosing to implement his agenda.
Hopefully someone soon lets Mr. Layton in on the joke.
sstinson@nationalpost.comtwitter.com/scott_stinson
CKA Uber 
![[B-o]](./images/smilies/drinkup.gif "Drink up")
