ARGH!
Conservative minority. Big surprise. The Liberals continue to be plagued by a host of organizational and leadership problems. No one but the Bloc really got out the vote. Even they struggled in some ridings. It's going to be years before we see a strong majority, but it would be nice to see more movement than ten seats for the $300 million we spent on this election.
Canadian federal politics: an exercise in frustration.
A couple of people expressed the opinion that if Michael Ignatieff had been elected Liberal leader, they wouldn't have had as poor a showing. This flies in the face of the serious organizational and image problems of the party, and the significant dislike for the man, outside the Liberal base. The thing is, Ignatieff supported the war in Iraq. He supported the Neo-Con agenda and even water-boarding. He's descended from Russian gentry and writes interminably long and wordy opinion pieces worthy of Lord Black. There are reasons for the dislike.
Bob Rae, another leadership possibility, is largely despised in Ontario for his days as an NDP premier, disliked by the center for his association with the left, and by the rust belt for his Rhodes-scholar-smarty-pants-ness. That leaves... who exactly?
Putting aside the leadership quandary there's still the lingering odour of the Sponsorship Scandal, the damage done by over ten years of infighting, and ten more of arrogance and right-shifting. There is nothing that could have won this election for the Liberals, short of Steven Harper being discovered to be a sex offender. But they definitely could have done better. *cringe*
I feel so betrayed by my fellow Ontarians, who continue to defect to the Conservatives.
The good news of this election is threefold:
1) Conservative minority, not majority. This is good news insofar as it will be somewhat harder for Harper to implement his environmentally destructive agenda. Yay. It also forces him to continue to play to the center, at least a little. He can't go all fundie whackjob on us.
2) The NDP and Green parties had strong showings in the popular vote. Yes, the NDP fell short of their historic high number of seats, but they have enough to be a voice in Parliament, and that's crucial. With the Liberals spinning their collective wheels, the NDP are the Conservatives most effective critics. The Greens failed to capture a single seat, thanks in part to leader Elizabeth May's foolish decision to run against Conservative mainstay Peter McKay. Their share of the popular vote went up and though they don't have a voice in Parliament, the attention the campaign has lent them, will make them legitimate players on the national stage. Even if only as a pressure group, it's pressure that needs to be brought to bear on the government.
3) Michel Fortier, the former Conservative Senatorial appointee failed in his bid to be elected MP. HA and HA HA!
Something I don't care about nearly as much as the national media elites think I do: Justin Trudeau has been elected to Parliament. You can't see it, but my eyes are rolling. Freaking rolling over the disgusting coverage of this issue. It's ok guys, I can do without a another political royal family dynasty.
Ho hum.
Canadian federal politics: an exercise in frustration.
A couple of people expressed the opinion that if Michael Ignatieff had been elected Liberal leader, they wouldn't have had as poor a showing. This flies in the face of the serious organizational and image problems of the party, and the significant dislike for the man, outside the Liberal base. The thing is, Ignatieff supported the war in Iraq. He supported the Neo-Con agenda and even water-boarding. He's descended from Russian gentry and writes interminably long and wordy opinion pieces worthy of Lord Black. There are reasons for the dislike.
Bob Rae, another leadership possibility, is largely despised in Ontario for his days as an NDP premier, disliked by the center for his association with the left, and by the rust belt for his Rhodes-scholar-smarty-pants-ness. That leaves... who exactly?
Putting aside the leadership quandary there's still the lingering odour of the Sponsorship Scandal, the damage done by over ten years of infighting, and ten more of arrogance and right-shifting. There is nothing that could have won this election for the Liberals, short of Steven Harper being discovered to be a sex offender. But they definitely could have done better. *cringe*
I feel so betrayed by my fellow Ontarians, who continue to defect to the Conservatives.
The good news of this election is threefold:
1) Conservative minority, not majority. This is good news insofar as it will be somewhat harder for Harper to implement his environmentally destructive agenda. Yay. It also forces him to continue to play to the center, at least a little. He can't go all fundie whackjob on us.
2) The NDP and Green parties had strong showings in the popular vote. Yes, the NDP fell short of their historic high number of seats, but they have enough to be a voice in Parliament, and that's crucial. With the Liberals spinning their collective wheels, the NDP are the Conservatives most effective critics. The Greens failed to capture a single seat, thanks in part to leader Elizabeth May's foolish decision to run against Conservative mainstay Peter McKay. Their share of the popular vote went up and though they don't have a voice in Parliament, the attention the campaign has lent them, will make them legitimate players on the national stage. Even if only as a pressure group, it's pressure that needs to be brought to bear on the government.
3) Michel Fortier, the former Conservative Senatorial appointee failed in his bid to be elected MP. HA and HA HA!
Something I don't care about nearly as much as the national media elites think I do: Justin Trudeau has been elected to Parliament. You can't see it, but my eyes are rolling. Freaking rolling over the disgusting coverage of this issue. It's ok guys, I can do without a another political royal family dynasty.
Ho hum.