Ian Welsh is a Canadian and a real smart guy, and today at BOP News he discusses yesterday’s election in Canada that shifted power to a conservative coalition. Righties today are celebrating a victory for troglodytism and a shift in Canadian popular opinion to the Right, but Ian’s analysis suggests it’s not quite so simple.
The Mahablog
Politics. Society. Group Therapy.
I’m a big Canadaphile, at least from an arts perspective, but their arcane British-style electoral politics have me completely flummoxed. The Conservatives could be out in another few months (man, I wish we could do that!), if their minority in Parliament can’t get anything done.
But in the meantime, Tony Blair might want to scooch over and make some room on Dubya’s lap for Stephen Harper.
Harper’s hands are tied. He did not win a majority. In a parliamentary domocracy that’s as close to loosing as you can get while still winning. Canadian’s do not trust Harper with a majority; at least not yet. Canadian’s aren’t stupid. The election turned out this way because we’re tired of the crap the liberals have been getting away with for far too long. Harper’s mandate is shaky. If he even thinks about paying a visit to Crawford Texas we’ll deal with him the same way the Italian’s took care of Mussolini.
“But in the meantime, Tony Blair might want to scooch over and make some room on Dubya’s lap for Stephen Harper.”
Well said, Joan!
Yes, the only silver lining to this depressing event is that Harper does not have enough seats in Parliament to ram through any retrograde legislation and he could indeed be turfed out pretty fast.
The problem is, Canadians wanted a change in government but they were afraid of going left, so all they could do was go right. If the opposition decides to take down the Harper government without letting it show its true right-wing colours, the electorate could decide to give it a real chance and elect a majority Conservative government. That would be disastrous: a free vote in Parliament that could take away a woman’s right to choose, Canada could decide to join Bush’s missile defence plan, and who knows what else.
It’s going to be a tense time up here.