Conservatives Rebound as Elections Loom; Kickback Scandal, Budget Battle Threaten to Sink Governing Liberals

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Byline: Levon Sevunts, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

MONTREAL - A reconstituted Conservative Party, ideological heirs to a party that was wiped from the political map 12 years ago, stands poised to regain power as early as this summer thanks to a kickback scandal engulfing the governing Liberals.

Leaders of the Conservative and the separatist Bloc Quebecois parties - who together hold a slight majority in Parliament - announced Wednesday that they will vote against the government's budget next month, forcing a June election.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Paul Martin had tried to shore up his government by promising the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) he would …