OTTAWA - Lloyd Axworthy parks his red Liberal colours at the door when it comes to his country's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Axworthy liked what he heard in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's two speeches to the UN last month. If Canada manages win another term, the former Liberal foreign minister says, "I'd be glad to send him some of my old notes."

Axworthy's non-partisan bonhomie has been in short supply as Canada competes with Germany and Portugal for two temporary seats in Tuesday's blind ballot of the 192 General Assembly countries.

Axworthy was foreign minister when Liberal-led Canada last sat on the council a decade ago, and he's pulling hard for his country -- now led by the Harper Conservatives -- to return to the powerful body.

That view separates Axworthy from some prominent ex-Canadian ambassadors, interest groups and even the current Liberal leader, who are openly questioning whether their country has "earned" a seat on the council under the Harper Conservatives.

That pervasive sentiment distinguishes this Security Council campaign from the six other ones Canada has waged -- all successfully -- in the UN's 65-year history, injecting an unprecedented level of partisan political bickering into the country's foreign affairs.

It has left senior government insiders worrying to the point of believing Canada might lose its first ever Security Council campaign.

The government is scrambling in the final run-up to Tuesday's decisive vote. It will serve free Canadian beer to diplomats in a tony Manhattan club, while the Foreign Affairs Department has crafted two media response plans. If Canada wins, there will be a large press conference at a UN press theatre; if Canada loses, a few quick comments in a scrum is all that will be said.

"Most Canadians believe -- and this is born out in public opinion polls -- that partisan politics stops at our borders and we should speak with one voice on the world stage," observed Fen Hampson, director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Ottawa's Carleton University.

"Whether we have 'earned' it or not, Canadians want to see us secure a seat on the Security Council."

Groups as disparate as the separatist federal Bloc Quebecois and Council of Canadians interest group have questioned Canada's UN worthiness.

But sharp criticism has come from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as two of Canada's most distinguished ex-ambassadors to the UN.

Speaking to a Liberal policy convention earlier this year, Robert Fowler -- who pushed an ambitious agenda as Canada's UN envoy during its last Security Council term ending in 2000 -- blasted Liberals and Conservatives alike for squandering Canada's hard earned international reputation.

Fowler accused them of tainting their foreign policy to "corner the ethnic vote" at home to win votes.

"The world does not need more of the kind of Canada they have been getting," Fowler told slack-jawed Liberal delegates. "If we win, it will not be because we have contributed much to the effective management of world affairs over recent years, because we have not."

Similarly, the man who succeeded Fowler at the UN blasted Harper's intentions for seeking a UN seat. In his just-released book, Paul Heinbecker accused Harper of being driven by the "fear" of being the first government to lose a seat on the council rather than its genuine interest in the UN.

Heinbecker, like Fowler, served Liberal and Conservative prime ministers.

But last month, Ignatieff piled on politically: "I know how important it is for Canada to get a seat on the Security Council but Canadians have to ask a tough question: Has this government earned that place? We're not convinced it has."

That prompted Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to fire back in a speech to 150 foreign envoys in Ottawa last week. Though his speech mostly outlined Canada's foreign policy priorities and why it deserves to win a seat, Cannon raised eyebrows when he accused Ignatieff of putting his political party before his country.

Hampson said Ignatieff should have supported Canada.

"If we win, which we are likely to do, his message is that the world made a mistake or voted holding its nose, and we shouldn't be there," said Hampson.

"If we lose, he can take credit for helping stick the knife in our candidacy and Canadians will be pointing fingers at him too -- not just the government."

The key question that the Conservatives and the Liberals should be addressing is what Canada should do with its seat if it wins, he added.

"Partisans of all political stripes and diplomatic persuasions should tread carefully, especially on matters like this where Canadians expect their leaders to take the high road."

Axworthy is one of the few noticeable travellers on that road.

He's excited about what Canada can accomplish, sounding upbeat about what the Harper Conservatives have done recently to elevate the country's profile on the world stage, including its pair of summer summits and the prime minister's child and maternal health plan.

Axworthy said he sees similarities between his own "human security" agenda that he pushed as foreign minister and Harper's signature G8 initiative to bring down the death rate of poor children and mothers in the developing world.

"You don't have to use the words human security. It is a reflection of the same view that there are a lot of vulnerable people in the world, who are not given the protection of the laws in their own countries," said Axworthy.

"It's two years that could really be a very innovative time for Canada coming out of the G8 and G20 and other initiatives."