October 15th, 2008, 5 Comments »
We were in the US this past long weekend, so we only got news of last night’s election when I logged into the AT&T wifi at SeaTac. To no one’s surprise, we got ourselves another Conservative minority government. I have read just about zero analysis of the results, but it seems to me that most of the parties hopped on the fail boat:
- The Liberals, obviously, were the biggest failure. They haven’t won so few seats since 1984. Adieu, Monsieur Dion.
- The Conservatives failed to secure a majority.
- The Greens failed, yet again, to win a single seat.
- Jack Layton failed to become Prime Minister. Though, admittedly, the NDP’s showing was one of its strongest ever.
I guess the Bloc Québécois has to be reasonably happy with their 50 seats, as the best they’ve ever done is 54.
Personally, I don’t mind minority governments. They feel democratic. And I don’t mind that the average Canadian is asked to pay attention to national issues every couple of years. Is it really that much of a burden to have to vote every 18 months instead of every five years?
UPDATE: Apparently the folks at Comedy Central agree with me.
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September 2nd, 2008, 5 Comments »
As you probably read, some political news emerged over the weekend. First, the word on the street is that the next federal election will be October 14:
The prime minister will declare that, after having met with all three opposition leaders over the last few days, he no longer has the confidence of Parliament, the sources said. As per tradition, it will then be up to Jean to decide whether to dissolve Parliament and set the election date.
I must register to vote here in Victoria.
In other news, the Green Party, in a rather backhanded fashion, acquired its first Member of Parliament. MP for the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Blair Wilson got bounced from the Liberals last year:
Green party Leader Elizabeth May introduced Wilson at a news conference Saturday morning in Ottawa, just a week after he approached the party.
“It felt like coming home,” Wilson said Saturday.
I know very little about him, but I’ve heard some fairly unflattering things about Blair Wilson. Regardless, I’m hopeful that this means that the Greens will get a voice in the TV debates in the upcoming election. They were denied by the broadcasters in the past because they’d never had a sitting MP.
I observed to somebody over the weekend that, in the event that the Green Party leader gets to participate in the debate, it’d be a bit of a pity. Elizabeth May strikes me as kind of a nerd. But, then, looking at our current crop of party leaders, they’re a pretty nerdy bunch.
In sharp contrast, that American election just gets more and more fascinating. It’s the best reality TV I’ve seen in years.
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