So Canadians are in an uproar, the Prime Minister claims a "coup" is about to happen, and Stephane Dion goes from scapegoat to possible Prime Minister in the matter of months.
I haven't really formulated any cohesive thoughts on the matter, just smatterings that I shall post here. Disagree at will.
1. The heart of the problem is Canadian's misconceptions about the Canadian political system. In a parliamentary system such as we have we vote for MPs, not for who will be the Prime Minister. This is not America. These MPs represent us and the leader who has the most MPs and the confidence of the House becomes the PM. Harper clearly did not have the support of the House or of a majority of MPs.
2. For those who say Canadians voted for the Liberals or the NDP, not a coalition... You are missing the point of a coalition. They are meant to be made after elections. In many countries around the world this is how it is done and how it has been attempted here in Canada before.
3. For those who slam Dion for joining forces with the seperatist Bloc (as our esteemed PM has done), Harper tried the exact same thing to try and oust a weak Liberal government. He courted the Bloc and they turned him down. Hmmmmm....
4. Public opinion is important and somehow, despite all the pluses of a coalition, opinion is very split. The coalition needs to make sure that they're not shooting themselves in the foot for the next elections.
5. I think I would have rather seen the Conservatives try and form a coalition but Mr. Harper felt he had the support to go ahead and govern like he had a majority; he tried to bully his way through and someone called his bluff. He has realized the error of his ways but now it may be too late for him.
6. If the Governor-general decides on another election, my bet is that the NDP and Libs make a deal not to run competing candidates where the Conservative government won by vote splitting (such as in my riding). This would likely lead to a NDP/Liberal governing coalition anyways.
7. I am willing to give the coalition a chance to govern and see what happens.
8. Guaranteed, interesting times in Canadian politics.
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2 comments:
I totally agree with you Eric. Of course I did not vote Conservative. Great thoughts as usual.
Interesting times indeed. I don't know who should be leaders of our country. I did not vote for the conservatives. In fact I did not vote at all because I was torn. I still do pray for whoever ends up leading our country.
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