I decided on my blogging break that I spend too much time focused on US politics and not enough time on the state of affairs in my own backyard. So I’ve decided to start a series with running commentary on Canadian politics as much for my own benefit as anyone else’s — though commenter Katherine had, a while back, opined for a Canadian League, and other Gents have expressed interest.
Anyhow, Canadians are looking at what could be their fourth federal election in just over five years if the Opposition Liberals decide to topple the minority Conservatives at the end of the month, which, for obvious reasons, is not such a popular idea. Part of the problem is that even with the Liberals having swallowed the necessary leadership tonic by putting Ignatieff at the helm, Canadian political parties are about as inspirational as spam. I mean, the NDP’s latest idea to win the hearts of minds of Canadians was to drop the “New”. Tres overwhelming.
But the one bright spot that could emerge from yet another election would be to see Green Party leader Elizabeth May finally win a seat by running in something approaching a winnable race. I voted Green in the last federal election, mostly because of my local candidate. But there was an element of needing a change in the casting of my ballot. Of all the options out there, I think the Green Party probably has the most potential and while they continue to have a long way to go, this is definitely a step in the right direction.
I understand not wanting to be a parachutre candidate, but let’s face it: it’s hard for your party to get any cred on the federal scene or make anything resembling an impact on Canadian political discourse when your leader can’t even get elected. And while there is a principled part of me that wants to applaude May’s previous decisions only to run in her home province of Nova Scotia, I’m sorry putting her up against one of the most popular conservative politicians in the country, the federal Defense Minister, and the guy who vied with Harper to assume leadership of the Conservative Party doesn’t strike me as having very good odds.
At some point, one has to ask one’s self whether using just a touch of strategy and making a relatively small compromise on principle is a fair trade for doing something that might forward the overall goals of your Party. I think the answer is yes, and apparently almost half of Canadians agree.
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Canada is a separate country?
Just messin’ with you Scott! Although I must admit that the only thing I learned on my 2 visits were that it’s really beautiful and the roaming charges on my cell phone were ridiculous.
Stick around, Mike. We’ll have you eating back bacon and wearing a toque before you know it, eh…
Given Harper’s Senate appointments, I can’t imagine that there’s anything like principled opposition to hold her back. I just wish someone would unseat Dorris from his Okanagan seat.
Spam, spam spam, spam spamity spam it’s spamity Canadian politics.
I like May as well, but I don’t think she has a very good chance at winning. The Liberal candidate in 2008 – who is very environmentalist and probably got the same voters May will, along with party-line Liberals – lost, and only got as close as she did because the NDP candidate had to drop out of the race.
The Liberals may or may not hold back in terms of who they nominate if May runs, but the NDP won’t hold back at all.
I’m not looking forward to an election: it’s unlikely to change anything, the NDP will almost certainly lose seats, and Ignatieff will gain seats and solidify his position as Liberal leader when he should be heading back to Harvard to spend his time in a nation he actually gives a damn about. I’m a leftist and I still prefer Harper to Iggy – at least Harper’s lived here, at least he’s content with being a Canadian even if he thinks we should mold our country after the States, at least he didn’t leave as soon as he was done taking advantage of cheap university costs. Ignatieff’s here out of pure opportunism; the sheer nerve of writing an election book entitled True Patriot Love when he’s spent the vast majority of his adult life outside the country and claiming to me a member of other nations is galling.
Victorious or no, it is a decidedly good thing that May has started to actually look for more winnable races. More on Iggy when I have the time.
I guess I don’t understand, if you have the choice of voting for the NDP or the Greens, why you’d vote for the Greens? What part of the Green Party platform is substantively different from the NDP platform? (And don’t tell me carbon tax vs cap-and-trade.) The Green Party has vastly less talent than the NDP; the NDP has at least shown the ability to competently run individual provinces, while the Green Party has not.
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