NEW YORK — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday secured permission for a rare suspension of Parliament, a move that allows him to avoid an imminent vote that would have toppled his Conservative government, elected just two months ago.
But the narrow escape from a crisis that was largely self- inflicted has badly scarred a prime minister already widely regarded as a bully, and reawakened a national unity crisis in a country where regional grievances are sometimes dormant but easily stirred.
Governor General Michaelle Jean, the official head of state, who normally has only a ceremonial role, allowed Harper to suspend Parliament until Jan. 26, saving his government from defeat by a coalition of opposition parties that included one dedicated to splitting the province of Quebec from Canada.
Emerging from the governor general's residence, Harper said he would use the breathing space to focus on the country's economic troubles.
Opposition leaders vowed to defeat his government at the first opportunity after Parliament returns.
That ended one of the most raucous political weeks in Canadian memory. It began when Harper, governing with only a minority of seats in Parliament, introduced an economic plan Saturday that ignored the global trend toward stimulating the economy with new public spending.
More provocatively, he used the occasion to tack on a highly partisan measure: cutting the $22-million public subsidy to political parties. With his own Conservative Party flush with cash, it was widely seen as an underhanded strike at opposition parties far more dependent on public funds.
Unlikely coalition
Harper's moves were seen as cynical and out of touch at a time when Canada is feeling the sting of the global economic crisis. And it prompted opposition parties to form an unlikely coalition to vote out the Conservatives and assume power, a legitimate parliamentary tactic.
"The coalition smelled blood," political analyst Norman Spector said. "He wanted to finish them off. And now they want to finish him off."
But many Canadians are uneasy about seeing a new government composed of a Liberal Party whose leader, Stephane Dion, had announced his decision to quit politics after being trounced in October's elections, and the perennial also-ran socialist New Democrats.
