I suspect a lot of Canadians are like me. You may not like the guy who's in the big chair right now, but that does not mean that anybody else inspires you.
Some of the issues smack of faux outrage though. Working in defence procurement, I know fully well all the issues surrounding the supposed inflation costs of fighters. And the real truth is that it's a non-story made into one. The PBO employed accounting methods that were never before applied to any defence procurement before (like costing in two mid-life updates) to inflate the cost and still came away with the conclusion that the procurement was valid because it was the only one that met the requirements set out by DND. The government bungled the affair by being secretive on cost numbers (something which frustrates many a public servant), and the Opposition has been disingenuous in the least by portraying this as overspending (using the same math, our current CF-18 fleet would be easily over 10 billion already).
That said, I'm no fan of things like the GST cut and the whole census affair. Yet, those are things that bother me far more than parliamentary censure, because the latter appears to me to be a function of politics. Put any party in a minority situation long enough and the opposition will manoeuvre to make them look corrupt and/or contemptible. That's a given. (and chances are, after a while in power, there's always an element of truth to it). But again, I go back to the idea of presenting a solid alternative vision. The Liberals don't. If you are in one their three target markets maybe. For the rest of Canada? Not so much.
I was very much enamoured with Iggy when he first came in. I used to think that we finally had a Liberal visionary cut from the same cloth as greats like Trudeau or even Pearson. And indeed, he sounded fresh. He was going to be more of a centrist. He was going to be more of an internationalist and would want an active role for Canada in the world (it matters to me...). Instead, I've slowly watched as he's compromised on all the positions he's taken earlier to the point where the Liberals now, aren't all that apart from the NDP (a party that's too far to the left for me). Worse still, the man has failed to articulate a fresh, compelling vision. So if he's going to be NDP-lite, why vote for him? Why not just vote for the real deal?
I used to think I was an odd duck for thinking that way. Until I listen to family and friends around me. In a roundabout way,they all say the same thing. Why have a change of government when things are going alright? Sadly, Harper is right. At the end of the day, Canadians don't care about some Contempt of Parliament charge. They care about having a good manager in point. And the guy in the sweater has done a great job saying it should be him. So I see it as I said before. People want inspiration and a vision. Unless they are mad as heck with the current government, they'll need a lot more to jump ship. With the Liberals, there's no vision and for most Canadians the Conservatives are par for the course with all politicians. I don't think most Canadians view the Cons as any less or more corrupt than their predecessors.
And that last bit is key. I think the public only tends to care about corruption when it involves money. Contempt of Parliament is something only political junkies care about. I doubt, the average person will rally around a call to oust the party in power based on such behaviour. Heck, I don't think the average person even understands what it means or why it's important. This is why adscam had traction (it had to do with money) and contemptuous behaviour in Parliament doesn't.
...I may just stay home this election.