Party merger?

This would be an extraordinary development if it were actually to come about: Liberal, NDP insiders talk merger. However, this news is no surprise: "Last week, a poll suggested that a coalition led by NDP Leader Jack Layton would beat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives while one led by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff would lose." Could talk of merger be a ploy on the part of disaffected Liberals to dump "Iggy"?