Here we go again.. Election 2011
I’ve been rather quiet on the federal election of 2011 so far. I suppose the main reason is that intially, I didn’t know where the campaign would end up. I didn’t know if Harper would surge thanks to a Dion-style blunder by Ignatieff, or would Harper’s track record since the last election end up turning the electorate against him.
What I didn’t expect at all was a surge by the NDP. Yet here we are, one day before the election, and the results are still difficult to predict
Going through the leaders, Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have become the most unattractive choice in my opinion. I’m not a hyper-partistan person; I used to support the Conservative Party, specifically Stephen Harper. Alas since 2008 he has lost my confidence. No longer do his actions show that he is guided by reason and transparency. What completely lost my support was his destruction of the long-form census. This highlights that Harper is no longer interested being guided by reason and empirical evidence, but by that “gut feeling”. Similarly is his views on what Canada’s justice system should be shaped into.
I like Michael Ignatieff, even more so when contrasted to Stephen Harper. He’s an academic, something which I have much respect for, and seems to be guided by reason more than than blind ideological drive. Unfortunately he seems to be unable to translate his wisdom into votes. I was talking to someone who said, “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like Ignatieff”. This is something I’ve heard from many people with regards to the Liberal leader. When this is the stance that one seems to generate on default, then there is an obvious problem.
Elizabeth May seems to be most concerned with winning her seat in British Columbia. This is a smart move politically, as she needs to get the Green Party’s foot in the door, and then focus on expanding afterwards. To many, the party is still seen as a fringe party, partially due to its lack of representation in Parliament. I think that May will have beneficial effects on parliament as she helps to change the current political culture in place in Ottawa.
Jack Layton is- well- Jack Layton. The guy has been around for 10 years now and is now front and center in this election. No longer is the NDP a small, hopeless third-party on the national scale. Now there is a possibility that the man with the ‘stache could actually become the Prime Minister of Canada. Layton has less for other parties to attack as he both has not been in power, so does not have a history of governing to attack, nor does he seem to have any skeletons in his closet.
Ever since Barack Obama began his race for the presidency of the United States, Canadians have begun looking for their own ‘Obama’ character. They seem to want a character who will speak of change, one who is a bit of a celebrity and charismatic, and one who can motivate the country and possesses a vision. Michael Ignatieff lacks these characteristics, so Stephen Harper is the ‘safe’ choice, as he has proven to govern while not destroying the Canadian economy. Now Jack Layton has come forward with an ‘orange wave’ of support across the country. While he is not young, nor is he as charismatic as Obama, the man represents a fresh change from the Red/Blue domination of the Canadian government.
May 2nd will be an interesting day as regardless of the outcome, the repercussions of the election are sure to have significant effects on all the parties, as well as Canada.
