December 1, 2005 at 9 PM

Election 2006

Fellow Canadians! We have only 24 days to choose Christmas presents! And only 54 more days to choose a government!

Actually, 54 days is a really long time for an election. That’s almost 8 weeks of campaign appearances, promise-making, insults, rancour and, our personal favourite, the TV debate where all the leaders take turns speaking yell simultaneously so you can’t understand any of them.

Still, it promises to be an exciting campaign if early events are any indication. Already we have a promise to give Quebec its own national sports teams and a candidate misinterpreting a silly blog entry about a science magazine to be a slur on “ethnic minorities”.

And let’s not forget the “star candidate” who was parachuted into a certain Ontario riding that has a large Ukrainian community. Only trouble is, he questioned the very existence of Ukraine and its nationhood in one of his books. Oops.

Living in the UK as I am, I will dutifully submit an application to vote as a temporary escapee emigrant from Canada. I still consider it a privilege to vote. Viewed from this side of the ocean though, Canadian politics has never seemed so inane.

The choice: scary rights-axing conservatives, power-drunk back-room-dealing scandal-ridden do-littles, or scare-mongering economically-deficient socialists. I want none of these three major parties to lead the country, and I certainly don’t want the fourth — the separatist plotters — anywhere close to the seat of power.

Really what I would like is a government kept in check. Yes, a government forced to weigh carefully each major issue, and that makes decisions based on compromise and democracy rather than political spin. Yes, what Canada needs is a minority government!

Uh, oh wait… we just had that, and the pack of childish scoundrels in charge wasted a year and half accomplishing little or nothing because they were too busy insulting each other and worrying about “optics”.

Buckle up, Canada. It’s a bumpy, nauseating road ahead.

Previously: Is That An Icon In Your Pocket, Or…

Subsequently: Australia Fair, Now’s the Time to Advance

December 2005
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