Tories now think they can reach October 2009

This is from the Hill Times.
This could very well be close to the truth concerning the Liberal's appetite for a fall election. On the other hand the Liberals could very well risk even lowering their reputation even more if they continue rescuing the Conservatives from defeat. The economy is bad now and the Conservatives are not doing any better in the polls so to wait for another year may be disastrous for Liberal prospects as well as allowing the Conservatives to pass even more reactionary legislation.

Tories now think they can reach October 2009, Dion told to cool it
Libs looked at PM's election rallying cry caucus retreat in Quebec City last week and saw bad news for their own party.
By Angelo PersichilliTORONTO—Despite the dare and double dare election hysteria unfolding in recent weeks, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has been advised to cool his summertime desire for an early fall election and postpone his encounter with voters and the Conservatives believe Dion will heed the advice. One top Conservative strategist told The Hill Times last week that "now, more than ever, we believe our minority government will reach the end of the legislature." Conservative strategists apparently believe that the Liberals will back down, again, "and–even if they dare, we are not sure the Bloc will follow them," said one Tory source. Obviously, everything is possible in this volatile federal political environment. But the Liberals will most likely make their decision during Dion's meeting of stop strategists at Stornoway, his official residence in Ottawa, on Aug. 12, but the desire for an election doesn't have many takers inside the federal Liberal Party right now. The show put on by the Conservatives last Wednesday night in Saint-Agapit, Que., with the electoral-style rally organized during the national caucus meeting has left some marks within the Liberal strategists. One of them told The Hill Times that "the rally tells us that they are ready to go and we are not." The strategist admitted that "Mr. Harper was of course in a friendly crowd, but we have to consider that he was in Quebec. For the Conservatives to put 2,000 people in the same room in Quebec is bad news for the Liberals." So, while the Conservatives have prepared their strategy for the fall, the one for the Liberals is still up in the air. This week Dion is on holiday and next week he has the meeting with top strategists to set the course for the following months. Unfortunately for Dion his problems are numerous and complicated. There is still quite a bit of disagreement on the most important part of his electoral platforms, the Green Shift, or carbon tax, and the party has financial, fundraising, and organization problems. Dion's also had problems choosing candidates for previous byelections and it won't be easy for him or his shaky organization to handle the process of choosing his candidates before the next election.