That guy is such an incredible assclown. I can't wait for the eventual day he tries to run for leader of the Cons.
Anyway, I feel worse about the election that I did last night (ugh!). Unless the Liberals seriously rebuild AND get themselves a smart, credible leader who can attract a wide following, this will mark the beginning of polarized American style politics. Stay well away from Bob Rae, Justin, and all the others. See if you can drag John Manley or someone - anyone! - with real rock-solid business credibility back.
A lot of people are comparing the Canada of today to the UK of 1922. back then, the Liberals, a centrist party that had governed very successfully for most of the previous 50 years, were destroyed in two elections only to be eclipsed by Labour, who permanently drove the middle-class vote into the hands of their Tories. Last night I saw ample evidence of that middle-class shift here, and it probably accounted for more Conservative wins in borderline ridings than vote-splitting did.
That said, the Canada of 2011 is not the same as the UK of 1922, there are a few crucial differences.
- The biggest rise in NDP votes came from a section of the population that had been effectively out of play in federal politics.
- The Cons can still potentially self-immolate (Harper is as Harper does).
- As bad as income disparities are getting, on its worst day Canada is not half so stratified as England.
- Other demographic differences (though these are a mixed bag - an aging population favours the Conservatives)
- We could even see a shift where the NDP becomes centrist and the Greens take their place on the left, leaving us right where we were only with different labels. This would take a while though. Probably a full generation.
At the risk of repeating myself, the survival of multi-party elections now hinges on what each party does in the next four years. But especially on what the Liberals choose to do.
