Although I am bullish about the ability of Canada's freshly elected conservative government to effect change, it is David Frum who points out that the entrenched civil service will create many obstacles to frustrate that process. He has made some creative assumptions as to how continued support for the Palestinian Authority will likely be justified:

"As unwelcome as the result is, we must understand why the Palestinian people voted for Hamas. They weren't voting for terrorism, war and the murder of the Jews. They were voting against corruption in government. It is important that we respect the democratic choice of the Palestinian people. If we don't, we risk discrediting our own advocacy on behalf of democracy.

"The Hamas charter is repulsive, agreed. But our information indicates that there are potential pragmatists within the group.

"We believe that we can persuade these pragmatists to move away from their support for terrorism. But to persuade them, we have to engage with them. That means keeping dialogue open--which in turn means maintaining our diplomatic links to the Palestinian Authority and continuing our aid.

"We don't fund the Palestinian government directly. We direct our funding to non-governmental organizations and UN agencies. This money serves important humanitarian purposes.

"If we are going to play a role encouraging Hamas to renounce terrorism and recognize Israel, we are going to need to maintain our credibility in Palestinian eyes as a fair-minded intermediary. So it will be important to continue our policy of casting critical votes against Israel at the UN.

"Although it is not our job to give political advice, we're sure it has not escaped you that major groups within the Canadian Muslim community have welcomed this election result and are calling on you to respect the democratic process ...."

And it is not just Harper who will be facing this test of wills. Richard Fernandez has an instructive breakdown of funds on which the PA relies. So, the argumentation to continue to fund the authority now that it is under new management is likely not restricted to an obstinate Canadian civil service. A test of wills will be fought in many institutions - notably European and multilateral ones - and it is far from evident that any lessons learned from past dealings with the PA will be taken to heart.