Rather than fixing the democratic deficit, one of his avowed articles of political faith, Canadian prime-minister Paul Martin is now taking full advantage of its existence to cling to power:

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

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

It's a weird mix of arrogance and desperation to ignore a 153-150 vote against you, so let's see if the ruling Liberals are able to maintain their position in the days ahead.

In parliamentary systems there are basically two options open if a sitting government is defeated by a motion of no confidence: (a) call for an election or (b) invite other parties to form a government that has sufficient support. As far as Martin is concerned neither option is on the table at the moment and from a procedural point he may well be right. However his current stance is an affront to democratic principles and an open invitation to the other parties to destroy his credibility during the expected election campaign.

Others blogging:

Kate at OTB has a good round-up, as usual.

Stephen Taylor looks at how Canadian media reacted in what seems to be the recurring theme of the week: the bias of dominant mainstream media.

But anyone thinking that the Conservatives are poised to form the next government better see what Adam Daifallah has to say about that prospect.