The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend...
Woo-hoo! I feel gleeful. Ottawa is a-buzz with well-founded rumours that there is a coalition government in the works, and that it will take down Harper and his familiar, Flaherty, early next week. If so, the Governor-General will be faced with a decision on whether to call a new election (and spend another $300 million in taxpayer dollars) or allow the coalition to give governing a chance. I have friends in Calgary who are livid, simply livid, that this kind of non-democratic, crass politicking can go on.
OK, maybe it is crass politicking, but watch it when you say non-democratic. The new coalition of the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois would represent 54.4% of the Canadian popular vote in the 2008 election, compared to 37.7% for the Conservatives. I would say the majority of Canadians would be open to seeing if these guys and gals can make it work together.
The more interesting point may be, who will become Prime Minister? Stephane Dion, the Liberal leader, has said he will step down in May of 2009. The Bloc has said they want anybody but Stephane. And Ed Broadbent (NDP) and the wily old Jean Chretien (Lib) are in the background pulling the levers. Whoever it is, s/he's gotta be better than the incumbent.
Harper is palpably nervous. He has already backed down from a promise of cutting federal financing for political parties, hoping the Coalition was acting in a purely self-serving manner. No such luck - they apparently have the best interests of Canadians in mind.
This is Canadian poitical theatre at its best. And lucky me! I will be in Ottawa next week to celebrate, er, observe, the proceedings first-hand. I'll keep you posted from the nation's capital.
OK, maybe it is crass politicking, but watch it when you say non-democratic. The new coalition of the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois would represent 54.4% of the Canadian popular vote in the 2008 election, compared to 37.7% for the Conservatives. I would say the majority of Canadians would be open to seeing if these guys and gals can make it work together.
The more interesting point may be, who will become Prime Minister? Stephane Dion, the Liberal leader, has said he will step down in May of 2009. The Bloc has said they want anybody but Stephane. And Ed Broadbent (NDP) and the wily old Jean Chretien (Lib) are in the background pulling the levers. Whoever it is, s/he's gotta be better than the incumbent.
Harper is palpably nervous. He has already backed down from a promise of cutting federal financing for political parties, hoping the Coalition was acting in a purely self-serving manner. No such luck - they apparently have the best interests of Canadians in mind.
This is Canadian poitical theatre at its best. And lucky me! I will be in Ottawa next week to celebrate, er, observe, the proceedings first-hand. I'll keep you posted from the nation's capital.
Comments
I have a question: If the coalition is made up of three parties who were all, at one time, after the popular vote and didn't get it on their own merit, what makes us think that the sum of the whole could possibly be better than the parts? That said then, why not leave well enough alone and allow the party who got 'the most votes' do their thing? I'm not typically a Conservative voter, but I do believe in the democratic vote. This sort of behaviour, I predict, will serve only to feed the fire of apathy when it comes to voter turnout.