Perhaps unlike others, these sorts of essays written in Harper's youth are not so unexpected or surprising.
In the Reform party, there was always the view of the outsider, who being shut out from key areas in central Canada was looking to do what ever they could to gain power. It wasn't as though there wasn't precedent. The Liberals and the NDP 2nd and 3rd placed in the election of 1963--formed a coalition against the conservatives. In 1925, William Lyon McKenzie King employed the technique with support of the progressives, leading to the longest term as Prime Minister of any in Canadian history.
So it would be a surprise if a politician such as Mr. Harper DID NOT think about coalition. It reminds me of that streak in human nature to suspect the worst of your neighbor for the very things you think yourself.
My perception is that this message has galvanized the right more-so than convinced the center. The center ignores the "coalition chatter" and will vote for the economic stability aspect of the Conservative platform. In fact the center can forgive a lot of little things for the stability of the essentials. This is why Mr. Harper appears like Teflon.
In the final analysis, the age-old Canadian adage about elections holds true: "Its the Economy, Stupid!"
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