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Now that was a speech. Thomas Mulcairs words to his federal council Sunday were surely music to Stephen Harpers ears. The Prime Minister should send the NDP Leader a bottle of gin.

The truculent Mr. Mulcair picked apart Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, portraying him as a silk-stockinged, Tartuffian lightweight. He didnt actually cite Molires theatrical comedy about the pious charlatan, but he might as well have.

The problem is, Justin Trudeau will never know what middle-class means, Mr. Mulcair intoned. He just doesnt understand the real challenges that families are facing. Never has. Never will.

The bearded former Liberal took time to remind one and all that he grew up cue the school-of-hard-knocks schtick in a family of 10. They had to scrap to make do. Mr. Trudeau? Well, he was at 24 Sussex Dr., surrounded by maids and Downton Abbey footmen.

There was also a suggestion in the speech that the young Mr. Trudeau is in over his head just like those Conservative attack ads say.

To be sure, the NDP Leader took a run at Mr. Harper as well, zeroing in on pensions, health care and the much-scorned Fair Elections Act, which he said will be a focal point of the next election campaign. With it, he said, the Conservatives are trying to rig the next election in their favour.

But the bulk of the campaign-style oration was aimed not at the governing party, but at boy blunder, as some Tories like to call Mr. Trudeau. It was the kind of talk that progressives who dream of defeating Mr. Harper dread. It signals a fevered fight between the two major opposition parties, one that drags both down while allowing Mr. Harpers Conservatives some breathing room.

Mr. Mulcair has little choice but to target the Liberals because, as polls repeatedly reveal, Mr. Trudeau is a grave threat to the New Democrats prospects particularly in Quebec, where the NDP won a stunning 59 seats in the last election. Mr. Harper need not worry about Quebec. He has just five seats to lose there and is capable of re-election simply by virtue of his strength in Ontario and the West.

Mr. Mulcair, once a rather slick lawyer, portrayed himself as a kitchen-table guy. Thats the place where you get to know Canadians, he said. But that feel for the population is also something youve had to experience yourself, that you have lived or havent lived. And if youve got no connection to it other than a line in a speech that somebody else has written for you, well then of course its going to sound hollow.

The heated rhetoric marked a new stage of aggression for Mr. Mulcair. Some might suggest that with an election likely still 18 months away, hes starting to sound a little desperate. That is not a good idea, because hes already seen by many as being too aggressive and power-hungry to begin with.

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Progressives battle, Harper smiles

Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Timipre Sylva | credits: File copy

A former Governor of Bayelsa State and leader of All Progressives Congress in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, has assured that the APC will work with the Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to flush out the PDP-led federal Government in 2015.

Sylva stated this when he led party executives and supporters of the APC in Bayelsa State on a courtesy call on Amaechi at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

The former governor said they were in Rivers to show solidarity with Amaechi, adding that though President Goodluck Jonathan hails from Bayelsa, the majority of the people from the state were frustrated with his (Jonathan) administration.

We of the APC in Bayelsa State have decided to come to you (Amaechi) to show solidarity, to tell you that not everybody in Bayelsa State is against progress, not everybody in Bayelsa State is an enemy of progress, that you also have a family in Bayelsa State that identifies with you all the way and we will stand with you all the way.

When the time comes for us to sweep away the government of the day at the national level, Bayelsa people will stand by you and be in the vanguard of sweeping away this government that has brought only misery to the Niger Delta.

The APC is the platform for progress. You (Amaechi) are an epitome of progress, not only in the Niger Delta but in Nigeria. Everybody that comes to Rivers State will bear witness to what you have done, to your commitment and we will stand by you and we will continue to support you, Sylva said.

He described the APC as a better alternative to the PDP and added that the APC had provided a credible platform for progressives to come together and sweep away the corruption and ineptitude of the current administration at the federal level.

The former governor pointed out that Jonathans presidency had opened cracks in the unity of the people of the South-South geo-political zone.

He said, Today, we in the Niger Delta have the presidency of this country, but what has this brought to us? It has brought divisions; in fact, put a crack in the unity of the Niger Delta.

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Well work with Amaechi to sack PDP Sylva

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vui said after meeting with Ivica Dai that he "does not want a partisan government," but "wants to unite Serbia and enter difficult reforms."

"We do not want to form a partisan government, our goal is to unite Serbia and go into difficult reforms, and to make Serbia the leader in the region," said the president of the SNS party and the country's future prime minister.

Dai, Serbia's outgoing prime minister and leader of the Socialists (SPS) arrived at the SNS headquarters on Tuesday for talks about a new government, which he said focused mostly on the economy. Ministerial positions have not been discussed, he said.

"We are ready to take on our part of the job - that Serbia does not miss an opportunity, but to step on in a bigger stride," Dai was quoted as saying. He then added that "not a single mistake was made during the current cooperation in the government when it comes to the road along which the country is headed," but that now there was an opportunity to "go into the economy."

Pointing out that the SPS-PUPS-JS coalition "positively assessed" its cooperation so far with Vui and the SNS, Dai stated that his cabinet's results were "good" - and would be "evaluated as significant also in the decades to come."

"Serbia has changed its image and today the worst talk about Serbia is taking place precisely in Serbia. Now it's time for Serbia to end the tradition of missed opportunities," the outgoing prime minister was quoted as saying, and adding: "We reiterate our desire and express our political will that Serbia does not miss the opportunity and that it develops."

The purpose of today's meeting, said Dai, was for Vui to propose a plan, while it did not concern "past times, but the future."

Speaking after the meeting, Vui also said that it was for the most part dedicated to the economy. He reiterated that "there would be no increase in the public debt," but said that Serbia would "get significant and major infrastructure projects, and that in ten or so days concession contracts will be signed for big jobs in that area."

Dai was accompanied by deputy leader of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS), Milan Krkobabi, President of United Serbia (JS) Dragan Markovi Palma, and SPS officials arko Obradovi and Dijana Vukomanovi.

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Leaders of Progressives and Socialists meet

The All Progressives Congress in Plateau on Monday in Jos said it had rescheduled its ward congresses to hold on Tuesday.

The State Organising Secretary, Mr David Joseph, told the News Agency of Nigeria the congress could not hold on Saturday as earlier scheduled because of logistic challenges.

He explained that the exercise was deferred due to the late arrival of national officials of the party to the state to preside over the conduct.

Joseph said the officials, who eventually arrived late on Saturday, April 5, were in custody of the materials for the conduct of the congress.

We were told that their take-off was delayed due to the late release of the materials to them, said the organising scribe.

Joseph said the sale of forms for the various positions in the three senatorial zones was in progress.

According to him, the form for the position of a ward chairman attracts N10,000, while forms for other positions go for N2,000 each.

NAN reports that the congress would be conducted in the 340 electoral wards of the state.

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Plateau APC reschedules ward congresses to Tuesday

Large turnout of party members characterised the All Progressives Congress ward congresses in Edo on Tuesday, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

NAN correspondent who monitored the exercise in Benin reports that most of the party members were seen at the various wards as early as 8 a.m.

Officials designated to conduct congresses were, however, not seen at their duty posts as at 10 am.

NAN also observed that security personnel were not seen at most polling units visited.

A party chieftain at Ikpoba-Okha, who pleaded anonymity, attributed the delay in arrival of the officials and materials to harmonised position taken by the party on ward executives across the state.

I can rightly tell you that most ward executives of the party have been harmonised by the party.

This was achieved after series of meetings involving the party chieftains and the governor of the state.

This issue of harmonisation became necessary to avoid rancour or crisis in the party, he stated.

NAN recalls that APC ward congresses were earlier scheduled to take place in the 192 wards of the state last Saturday.

The party congresses at the local government have been fixed for April 12 to be followed by that of the on April 23 respectively.

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Large turnout at Edo APC ward Congresses