Minority
Prime Minister Harper… and so Canada begins 2006 with a Conservative minority government. After having spent so much energy on this campaign I feel I should comment. Yet I’m at a loss for words. Alberta is blue. The ENTIRE province is conservative. Sigh… not a surprise.
The NDP did well, 29 seats across Canada. Jack Layton, and his wife Olivia Chow were both elected in their ridings. My local NDP candidate was re-elected with a lead of almost 10,000 votes. Libby Davies retains her hold on Vancouver east.
Paul Martin has resigned. The Liberals will enter a leadership race immediately. I wonder if Belinda will run… first elected as a Conservative, she retained her MP position as a Liberal.
The Bloc holds 51 seats and is in a position of extreme leverage. The only independent elected was a radio-host out of Quebec City, André Arthur.
It’s too early to predict how our government will function after today. In a minority situation everyone needs to buddy up and work together, in theory. Harper does NOT have enough seats to push anything through without support. Everyone at that table has different priorities. I’m curious to see how things will play out.
But today, after the election, I'm feeling subdued. The Liberals threw the election, as needed to happen. They need to rebuild. The results are as expected, the speeches well delivered, the shuffle underway. Now that the gag order has been lifted from the Conservative candidates, I wonder how many Canadians can be shocked, offended, and angered.
I wonder how they will team up. I wonder what priorities will come to light now that the campaign is over. I hope the changes respect and cherish Canadians. I hope the poorest of our people are not set up to shoulder the struggle. I hope the short leash is kept reined in, and Canada does not retract its commitments. I hope faith and fear to not play a dominate role.
CON 124
LIB 103
BQ 51
NDP 29
IND 1
For all the details… good, bad, and the ugly… http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/
The NDP did well, 29 seats across Canada. Jack Layton, and his wife Olivia Chow were both elected in their ridings. My local NDP candidate was re-elected with a lead of almost 10,000 votes. Libby Davies retains her hold on Vancouver east.
Paul Martin has resigned. The Liberals will enter a leadership race immediately. I wonder if Belinda will run… first elected as a Conservative, she retained her MP position as a Liberal.
The Bloc holds 51 seats and is in a position of extreme leverage. The only independent elected was a radio-host out of Quebec City, André Arthur.
It’s too early to predict how our government will function after today. In a minority situation everyone needs to buddy up and work together, in theory. Harper does NOT have enough seats to push anything through without support. Everyone at that table has different priorities. I’m curious to see how things will play out.
But today, after the election, I'm feeling subdued. The Liberals threw the election, as needed to happen. They need to rebuild. The results are as expected, the speeches well delivered, the shuffle underway. Now that the gag order has been lifted from the Conservative candidates, I wonder how many Canadians can be shocked, offended, and angered.
I wonder how they will team up. I wonder what priorities will come to light now that the campaign is over. I hope the changes respect and cherish Canadians. I hope the poorest of our people are not set up to shoulder the struggle. I hope the short leash is kept reined in, and Canada does not retract its commitments. I hope faith and fear to not play a dominate role.
CON 124
LIB 103
BQ 51
NDP 29
IND 1
For all the details… good, bad, and the ugly… http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/
Labels: politics
posted by Ryann @ 13:05
2 Comments:
At 9:28 PM,
Anonymous said…
"The good, the bad, and the ugly" ... that describes the Canadian public life perfectly. I have met Paul Martin many times and actually got to help design his initial leadership run, when he ran against Chretien. He got a raw deal. The cards were stacked against him from the beginning. Having said that ... good leaders can take such circumstances and thrive, and Martin could not seem to overcome the lethargy that scandal seems to instill in a political party.
Time out Liberals. They deserve it, but they will be back. I would predict another Liberal minority in 30 months. Probably headed by Frank Mckenna. Ontario will run like mad from the Conservatives as soon as the muzzles are off and they start actually saying what they are thinking.
The real problem with Canadian politics is that there really is only ONE choice. I know, there will be a bunch of contrarians who will yell about the Conservatove alternative or the NDP ... the truth is that about 60% of Canadians are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. the other 40% are split into the far left and far right, represented by the NDP and conservatives. The only reason Harper and Co. got elected was because they theoretically moved their platform to the centre. That will not last.
Canada's natural governing party will be back.
Get used to it.
Damn, I love politics. Maybe I should start a political blog, you can never have too many of those.
At 1:44 PM,
Ryann said…
wow... you didn't strike me as very politically motivated...
hee hee
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