HALIFAX - Heading into the fall session of the Nova Scotia legislature it's clear the summer break has done little to heal an ever-widening rift between the governing Conservatives and the official Opposition NDP.
The New Democrats signalled a shift in their approach to dealing with Premier Rodney MacDonald's minority government by voting against the budget last May for the first time since 2003.
The non-confidence move failed to defeat the government after the third-place Liberals voted in favour of the budget.
Nonetheless, it marked a decisive change for NDP Leader Darrell Dexter, who had established a reputation as a politician willing to co-operate to make minority governments work.
And if there were any doubts that the disappearance of Dexter's conciliatory tone was a temporary, he put that to rest in a recent interview in his Halifax office to discuss the return of the legislature on Thursday.
When asked about MacDonald's Conservatives, Dexter scornfully described the government as lacking "basic managerial competence" and said it regularly shows it is "out of touch."
"One of the things about my tenure in the House of Assembly is that I've been through three minority governments," he said. "I've seen good minority governments and I've seen bad minority governments, and I know the difference -- this has been a very poorly run minority government."
Dexter, who has often talked about the degree of consultation his party enjoyed under former Conservative premier John Hamm, said that has disappeared under the current administration.
"The reality of this session of the legislature ... is that there's not very much on the order paper and the government has not been sharing what their legislative agenda is. So one of the questions is, what exactly is this session of the House of Assembly going to be about?"
What it isn't going to be about, at least in the short -term, is an election, MacDonald says.
"I don't have any plans at this time to push for an election. But depending on what would happen in the house with legislation, if the opposition forced the issue, then that would be another case," said MacDonald.
Asked whether that meant the introduction of a wedge issue to force things, MacDonald said he thinks voters are "electioned out" following federal and municipal elections in quick succession this fall.
He also made it clear that he's still unhappy the New Democrats voted against the last budget.
"It was more political than practical and really it was more about putting party politics ahead of what I believe was in the interest of the people," he said.
Meanwhile, MacDonald doesn't deny that positions on the legislative benches have hardened, saying people will eventually have a clear choice between the "balanced approach" of his government and the "raise taxes, drive business away" agenda of the NDP.
When and election is held will likely fall to the Liberals, who hold the balance of power in the 52-seat legislature.
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said he isn't about to pre-judge how the scenario will develop.
"This has been a fairly long minority government and it always gets a bit contentious when it starts getting in excess of two years," he said. "We'll see what happens in the spring, but ultimately the premier can call an election at any time, and that will be his call."
In the meantime, he said it would be business as usual.
"We're prepared to go in and try to make minority government work," said McNeil.
