The only reason the government's standing today is that the Conservatives had people absent during the last confidence votes. If they could get all 98 of their MPs to the Commons (which should be doable for something this important), they could defeat this government that is, according to them, hurting the country more with every day it remains in power. Hell, they probably wouldn't even need all 98 MPs, since the Liberals have already demonstrated a willingness to pair their own MPs with David Chatters and Darrell Stinson when they're too ill to attent (and even if the Liberals refuse to pair, the New Democrats have indicated that they would).

The correct answer, of course, is that it's not politically convenient for the Conservative Party to have an election right now. But it would be fun to hear the official answer.

ADDENDUM - File this under "Take That, You Horse Carcass"

Remember how, about a month and a half ago, I set out the criteria under which, in my view, the government would be obligated to resign? To refresh your memory, I claimed that the government should resign if one of the following things occurred (I did not, as Mustafa repeatedly insinuated, suggest that both conditions needed to be met):

1. The House of Commons votes against a motion that is clearly - by reason of either its text, parliamentary convention, or a declaration by the government - a confidence motion (or for a motion of non-confidence).
2. Absent a formal motion, it becomes clear that a majority of the House opposes the government.

At the time I wrote that, I was defending the Martin government's right to hold office, since neither condition was met. I find it a little perverse that now, with condition 2 met, I am one of the very few commentators who argues that it is incumbent on the government to resign.