When Is a Coaltion Not a Coalition?

When Iggy says it is--or isn't. Here he is telling Peter Mansbridge how it works:

"If [Conservative leader Stephen] Harper wins the most seats, forms a government but does not secure the confidence of the House -and I'm assuming Parliament comes back -then it goes to the Governor-General. That's what happens. That's how the rules work," Mr. Ignatieff said. "And then if the Governor-General wants to call on other parties -myself for example -to try to form a government, then we try to form a government. That's exactly how the rules work. And what I'm trying to say to Canadians is, I understand the rules, I respect the rules, I'll follow them to the letter and I'm not going to form a coalition."

He added: "What I'm prepared to do is talk to Mr. Layton or Mr. Duceppe or even Mr. Harper and say: 'Look, we've got an issue here. How do we solve it? Here's the plan I want to put before Parliament, this is the budget I would bring in, and then we take it from there."

To translate for those who can't or won't cut through the thickets of Iggy doublespeak: "Should the Tories fail to gain a majority (and "not secure the confidence of the House") I won't form an official coaltion. I'll form an unofficial coalition. I.e., heads I win; tails you lose."

Thanks for the clarification, Igmeister.

Update: As Iggy strives to rise to the occasion of what he hopes will be another minority government for Harper, Mark Steyn observes and comments upon the great savant's diminishment.