I'm Officially the Candidate for Havin' Some Fun
As expected, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper called a general election in Canada today, which will be held on October 14...despite this violating the spirit of his own law which provided for a fixed federal election date next year.
For those generally unfamiliar with Canadian political affairs, you can always follow more closely, but the Associated Press article on the election call already provides some good background, and its description of "the crowded left in Canada" is rather apt...which worries me when it comes to the potential outcome of this election.
Here is the current parliamentary seat count:
Conservative Party of Canada = 127
Liberal Party of Canada = 95
Bloc Québécois = 48
New Democratic Party = 30
Green Party of Canada = 1
Independent = 3
Vacant = 4
Four of the five parties listed above could be described as left-wing, and although by their powers combined, they outnumber the Conservatives, we might now be in a situation that is the reverse of the Canadian landscape a decade ago. At the time, the Conservative Party was actually two right-wing parties which all-but-guaranteed a split of the conservative vote and consecutive Liberal majorities, and I'm concerned that the Tories will use vote-splitting between the Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens (along with the Bloc in Québec) to coast to a majority victory in this election.
Ideally, I'd prefer to see a strong Liberal minority (say, 140-145 seats) with the NDP holding a firm balance of power (40 seats or more), but I'd also be okay with a (rather improbable) return to the Liberal majority government(s) of old, which would make for a nice birthday present from the Canadian electorate...even though I know the most likely outcome here is a virtually identical Conservative minority. :/
Although I can take solace in the fact that Canadian elections (generally) avoid the contentious mudslinging which dominates the American political scene, we also miss out on catchy grassroots advertising, like this number from the Texas Democratic primary:
Staid though our elections may be, at least they get to the point--the whole thing will be over and done with before Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin have had their chance to duke it out. ;)
For those generally unfamiliar with Canadian political affairs, you can always follow more closely, but the Associated Press article on the election call already provides some good background, and its description of "the crowded left in Canada" is rather apt...which worries me when it comes to the potential outcome of this election.
Here is the current parliamentary seat count:
Conservative Party of Canada = 127
Liberal Party of Canada = 95
Bloc Québécois = 48
New Democratic Party = 30
Green Party of Canada = 1
Independent = 3
Vacant = 4
Four of the five parties listed above could be described as left-wing, and although by their powers combined, they outnumber the Conservatives, we might now be in a situation that is the reverse of the Canadian landscape a decade ago. At the time, the Conservative Party was actually two right-wing parties which all-but-guaranteed a split of the conservative vote and consecutive Liberal majorities, and I'm concerned that the Tories will use vote-splitting between the Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens (along with the Bloc in Québec) to coast to a majority victory in this election.
Ideally, I'd prefer to see a strong Liberal minority (say, 140-145 seats) with the NDP holding a firm balance of power (40 seats or more), but I'd also be okay with a (rather improbable) return to the Liberal majority government(s) of old, which would make for a nice birthday present from the Canadian electorate...even though I know the most likely outcome here is a virtually identical Conservative minority. :/
Although I can take solace in the fact that Canadian elections (generally) avoid the contentious mudslinging which dominates the American political scene, we also miss out on catchy grassroots advertising, like this number from the Texas Democratic primary:
Click to viewStaid though our elections may be, at least they get to the point--the whole thing will be over and done with before Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin have had their chance to duke it out. ;)