The Great White North: Why Do We Need Another Election?
There is nothing more disconcerting than the emptiness of Michael Ignatieff. For all his blather about being able to “do better” than Harper, he hasn’t done much himself. His criticism of the current government comes down to an inconsistent line on economics. He first complains that the government isn’t spending enough, and then laments that the spending has produced a 50 billion dollar federal deficit. Well, which is it? If he wants the government to get its Keynes on, he should expect even larger deficits. If he’s annoyed with the deficit as is, he should call for less spending (on a budget he voted for). Of course, Ignatieff believes he can “do better” by speeding the recovery, spending more, and eliminating the deficit (one presumes without raising growth-killing taxes). And this is all within the context of an economy that has been leading the G7 in economic performance, and that now presides over arguably the most stable and healthy financial system in the developed world.
It is certainly true that Harper has been disappointing. He has been petty and Machiavellian. His backtrack on Senate reform should be condemned for its inherent cynicism. For a conservative, Harper hasn’t done much to defend conservative principles - his budget was one of the most pork-laden in Canadian history. Some of this can be forgiven due to his minority status. Without a majority, it is unlikely Conservatives will ever get to put the meat of their beliefs in to legislation. But if Harper keeps acting like the mirror image of his opponents, then conservatism will never have a chance in Canada - period.
Still, none of this is enough to warrant the fouth election in five years. Canadians should be incensed that their politicians have ample power-lust but little courage. As we ready ourselves for more rhetorical spin and grandstanding, we should keep in mind that this election is about ambition, plain and simple. The Liberals want to reclaim the mantle as the “governing party” without having to put out a real and distinct platform. The Tories want to see if this time they can expand to a majority without having to articulate any genuinely conservative ideas. Macleans is right: it’s time to stop electioneering, and start governing.
I won’t really disagree Josh. I might have been a Liberal if Michael Ignatieff had turned out to be the person of vision he claims to be.
I do think that an election may help clear away some of the cobwebs, but only if parties decide to work together afterwords. A Tory majority is very unlikely: less than 1 in 4 Canadian voters supported Harper in 2008 and the number will likely be less this time around.
An election may not change much, but if Harper isn’t willing to work with the other parties and continues to regard them not merely as political rivals but as public enemies, we have to have it.
“eliminating the deficit (one presumes without raising growth-killing taxes)”
Hah! Typical for you “economist” types! Don’t you know that taxes HELP the economy? They redistribute the wealth from greedy, psychotic, jet-set corporatists to the common man, who will spend that money on a loaf of bread!
Be honest. Who is paying you to write this counterfactual garbage? Halliburton? Big Oil? Rupert Murdoch? You reich-wing fascists are so predictable. What Canada needs is a brave governor who will stand up to the evil fascist corporations and confiscate their wealth and industry to serve The People! An economy controlled by greedy private citizens is pure, unadulterated fascism. Fascist pig!