Today the Canadian Federal election began. Despite the fact that Stephen Harper made a law to establish fixed dates for elections, he managed to use the loophole that was built into the law, allowing for exceptions to the fixed dates under circumstances of ineffective government. So while he may not have violated his own law in legal terms, most political observers agree that he has violated the spirit of the law.
Harper's no dummy; he knows that the opposition leaders can't really make much fuss about this because they would be arguing against a chance to campaign to become Prime Minister; there's no way they would do that because it would be politically stupid beyond words.
This may go down in history as one of the most boring elections ever in Canadian history. There really aren't any significant issues; perhaps an argument could be made that the Liberals 'carbon tax' proposal will be the main issue, but I just don't see that being the issue that will grip the Canadian people.
I was discussing the reasons for the election with another father in the schoolyard and he argued that the reason was that Harper knows that the economic climate is going to get a lot worse in the next few years, so he's getting the election out of the way so he can stay in power, rather than fight an election in the midst of an economic downturn.
Hmmm... maybe, but this is also a guy who tried to tell me that the federal deficits in the 90's were a cover-up by the government in order to justify the cutting of spending on social programs (and yes, he does campaign for the NDP!)
Stephan Harper has launched TV ads that portray him as a normal average Canadian family guy. Does this mean that we are going to be asked to vote on who should be Prime Minister based on personality rather than substantive issues and policy differences? That sounds a bit like some of the rhetoric that comes from the political campaign south of the border!
But then again, if there are no major issues at hand, then what exactly should Canadians base their vote on?
For the most part I don't think that the Conservatives have done all that bad a job running the country over the past few years and I'm not at all clear on how the country would end up being better off (or even different) if the Liberals came to power. They are the only other realistic alternative; the NDP and the Green Party are certainly welcome voices in the political debate but we all know they won't form a government.
Somehow I'm still left coming back to the question, 'why exactly has this election been called?'
June 4 - Psalm 16
10 years ago
2 comments:
The election has been called because Harper knows he has the advantage. The Conservatives are more popular now than they were when they got elected. It is strategic. He has already outlived the average lifespan of a minority government, so it is not unusual to have another election. His little loophole was strategic so that he could call an election whenever he wants. He just has to claim there is not enough support from the opposition parties to govern effectively. That is very subjective and easy to claim.
He is playing a good game of politics. Remember where he comes from... Alberta! If anyone knows how to play political games it is the Alberta Tories. Although they are not affiliated, they are close at heart.
I also think his timing has to do with the legal controversies plaguing the Conservatives. Any fallout will happen AFTER this election and be forgotten about well BEFORE the next one in 2 - 4 years.
He is also very close to getting a majority. Even if he doesn't get a majority, he'll have a healthier minority government. And the opposition dare not bring down the new minority government for quite sometime for fear of being labeled sore losers (and then losing even more support).
Plus, if Harper can pull support from the Liberals, Dion may not survive as the Liberal leader, weakening the Liberal party even more (who wants to vote for a party that keeps changing leaders every couple of years?).
Harper has the edge and he knows it. And he is using it to his advantage to secure a future as Prime Minister. It's politics.
Remember Trudeau and his Liberal/NDP coalition government? He deliberately caused a non-confidence vote so that he could have an election and get a majority government back.
It's a shame that politics is sometimes a game. That's not what the likes of Aristotle had in mind...
However, I do think Harper has done an ok job as PM. It would be nice if he were more of a progressive in the areas of the environment, but ideologically, that's just not very conservative. He is doing a lot more for the Arctic sovereignty issue and for the military. It'll be good to get an ice breaker in the hands of the Navy at last (that's right, the Canadian Navy DOESN'T OWN AN ICEBREAKER! The coast guard has a few, but they are not military. Hard to claim sovereignty in the Northwest Passage when your military CAN'T EVEN GET THERE!)
Honestly, Harper comes across as a fairly decent guy. I just don't like the political games.
There will always be elements of an election that are based on personality and personal character. Remember, the leader of our country is a human being and his decisions will be based on principles. So personal character has to play into it.
At the end of the day, Canadians need to vote for the party that they believe will lead this country down the right path. Canadians need to read some party websites, email the candidates questions, and don't play nice with them. Get answers, not election rhetoric. Get answers the best you can and base your vote on that. It's the best we can do.
Wow! That's the longest comment ever. :)
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