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rfmcdonaldThe fact that the upcoming Canadian federal elections were announced the day after the 35th anniversary of the 1976 coup d'état in Argentina that made " Dirty War" and the verb "to be disappeared" elements of the English language might, I suppose, inspire me to care about the exercise of the franchise as an element of the vibrancy of Canadian democracy. It might; it doesn't. I'm half-tempted not to vote.
None of the parties inspire me. The Conservatives I've issues with, on accountability and whatnot. The opposition? They're the opposition, but they aren't offering anything interesting. The most interesting innovation that the opposition parties could have offered would have been the idea of a coalition government--likely revisiting the old Dion proposal, of Liberal-NDP powersharing with Bloc Québécois support--but Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has excluded this possibility on the first day of the campaign. Jeff Jedras' is too sanguine, I suspect, in his evaluation of the import.
He hopes.
Yes, the confusion at Crooked Timber about the reluctance of the Canadian electorate to support a coalition government can be explained in equal measure by the idea's novelty, by the weakness of the New Democratic Party (Canada is not social-democrat by tendency but more classically liberal) and by the spectre of the separatist Bloc Québécois getting involved in national governance (me, I agree with Andrew Barton that the inclusion of the Bloc Québécois separatism isn't scary, and wonder how getting the Bloc invested in Canadian affairs could be a good thing). But Ignatieff isn't going to win the election by dint of his personality, sadly, and NDP leader Jack Layton's positioning of his party as a government in waiting is almost endearing in its over-the-top ridiculousness.
Might my vote count? I have my doubts. My federal riding of Davenport, as Wikipedia notes, "has been one of the most consistently Liberal ridings in Canada over the last century; in fact, the last non-Liberal to be elected for the constituency was Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament Douglas Morton in 1958. [. . . I]n all recent elections, the Liberal candidate has been elected with 50% of the vote or more regardless of what happens to the other parties. In 2006 Silva was the only Greater Toronto Area Liberal to have increased his margin of votes."
If I vote Liberal, my vote won't change things (no proportional representation federally, nor is there any likely if being such a system); if I vote NDP, my vote won't change things; a vote for the Conservatives is implausible. "Why bother?" I've been asking myself.
And you? Your thoughts?
None of the parties inspire me. The Conservatives I've issues with, on accountability and whatnot. The opposition? They're the opposition, but they aren't offering anything interesting. The most interesting innovation that the opposition parties could have offered would have been the idea of a coalition government--likely revisiting the old Dion proposal, of Liberal-NDP powersharing with Bloc Québécois support--but Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has excluded this possibility on the first day of the campaign. Jeff Jedras' is too sanguine, I suspect, in his evaluation of the import.
They are a perfectly legitimate constitutional option, and I'm glad the statement makes that point. The Conservatives have deliberately confused and misled to such a point that the well is poisoned and it's a shame, because our democracy suffers as a result of the ignorance they stoke for their narrow political ends. They erode trust in our democratic institutions, and we all suffer for that.
And really, what could be more symbolic for the attitude of this Harper Government? A coalition is about cooperation, about different groups working together for a common goal. And the Conservatives have made cooperation a dirty word. Kind of says it all, doesn't it?
As for the politics, I think this settles the issue for most people, at least those who would be open to considering us in the first place. The media interest will fade out and the pack will move on. I hear they actually gave Harper a rough time on this at his five-question presser this morning.
The Conservatives, of course, will still keep harping (sorry) on this theme. Even if the media won't amplify it, their speeches and ad buys and their surrogates will keep spreading the secret evil voodoo coalition boogedy-boo. But I'm doubtful how effective running around calling Ignatieff a liar will be.
He hopes.
Yes, the confusion at Crooked Timber about the reluctance of the Canadian electorate to support a coalition government can be explained in equal measure by the idea's novelty, by the weakness of the New Democratic Party (Canada is not social-democrat by tendency but more classically liberal) and by the spectre of the separatist Bloc Québécois getting involved in national governance (me, I agree with Andrew Barton that the inclusion of the Bloc Québécois separatism isn't scary, and wonder how getting the Bloc invested in Canadian affairs could be a good thing). But Ignatieff isn't going to win the election by dint of his personality, sadly, and NDP leader Jack Layton's positioning of his party as a government in waiting is almost endearing in its over-the-top ridiculousness.
Might my vote count? I have my doubts. My federal riding of Davenport, as Wikipedia notes, "has been one of the most consistently Liberal ridings in Canada over the last century; in fact, the last non-Liberal to be elected for the constituency was Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament Douglas Morton in 1958. [. . . I]n all recent elections, the Liberal candidate has been elected with 50% of the vote or more regardless of what happens to the other parties. In 2006 Silva was the only Greater Toronto Area Liberal to have increased his margin of votes."
If I vote Liberal, my vote won't change things (no proportional representation federally, nor is there any likely if being such a system); if I vote NDP, my vote won't change things; a vote for the Conservatives is implausible. "Why bother?" I've been asking myself.
And you? Your thoughts?
