Most Americans don't realize, but ours isn't the only major election happening right now. Canada votes for Prime Minister & Parliament in less than 2 weeks on Oct 14th. Because of the parliamentary system, the election was only called a month or so ago. The American campaign has cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of almost 2 full years, while the Canadian campaign costs significantly less and lasts just over a month! Of course, they're constantly in campaign mode, wondering when the elections will be called.What do I think will happen? What do I want to happen? I can't vote in the election, so it doesn't really matter, but as an intern in the House of Commons in the fall of 2006, I had the unique opportunity to spend time with many of these leaders and watch how they operate up close, so I'm very interested in how things play out. I've stood in a scrum of reporters just 2 feet from Stephan Dion (leader of the Liberal Party - the man on the right), Jack Layton (leader of the New Democratic Party - in the middle) and Gilles Duceppes (leader of the Bloc Quebecois, not pictured), and just about every other national leader except Stephen Harper (the Prime Minister - on the left). I've been around him a number of times though, attending question period, etc, but he was less acecssible (rightly so) than everyone else.
I was always particularly impressed with Dion as someone who is passionate and sincerely interested in the issues, not to mention incredibly intelligent. I'm not sure he's a natural fit for the position, and would be someone everyoe across Canada would be confident about having as their leader right now. Even if he somehow wins, it'll be a minority government, and it'll seem like the conservatives will be itching to go to the polls as soon as they can.
On the other hand, I worked for a Conservative Member of Parliament (Rob Merrifield) and got to sit in on a lot private strategy sessions, so I feel I have a sense for how that party operates as well. I really enjoyed my time with him and found him and his staff to be extremely impressive. By and large I was impressed with everyone else too, but some people had surprisingly little depth of knowledge or interest in some key issues, and were much more likely to oppose/support something purely on ideological grounds with no clear reasoning other than "it's what the minister's office wants." If I had worked up close with another party I probably would have had the same impression. Perhaps that's the nature of federal politics. That being said, Harper always impressed me as intelligent, consistent, and having sharp political instincts.
I was largely impressed with the sincerity and intellect of individual members of the Bloc Quebecois (a party devoted solely to advocated Quebec's interest and autonomy), though I think the foundation of their party is incredibly weak and somewhat self-serving. They always want independence and special rules for Quebec, but always push for the maximum federal dollars as well. I don't think you can have it both ways...
On the other hand, I worked for a Conservative Member of Parliament (Rob Merrifield) and got to sit in on a lot private strategy sessions, so I feel I have a sense for how that party operates as well. I really enjoyed my time with him and found him and his staff to be extremely impressive. By and large I was impressed with everyone else too, but some people had surprisingly little depth of knowledge or interest in some key issues, and were much more likely to oppose/support something purely on ideological grounds with no clear reasoning other than "it's what the minister's office wants." If I had worked up close with another party I probably would have had the same impression. Perhaps that's the nature of federal politics. That being said, Harper always impressed me as intelligent, consistent, and having sharp political instincts.
I was largely impressed with the sincerity and intellect of individual members of the Bloc Quebecois (a party devoted solely to advocated Quebec's interest and autonomy), though I think the foundation of their party is incredibly weak and somewhat self-serving. They always want independence and special rules for Quebec, but always push for the maximum federal dollars as well. I don't think you can have it both ways...
The NDP and Green Party are full of good people, but don't have a broad enough platform to gain significant support. Even still, I think Jack Layton is an effective leader for the NDP and is the source of some most memorable quotes.
My prediction: Conservatives win a minority government, liberals have a new leader very soon, Green party wins at least 1 seat (not many more), and the new government doesn't last 2 1/2 years.
My prediction: Conservatives win a minority government, liberals have a new leader very soon, Green party wins at least 1 seat (not many more), and the new government doesn't last 2 1/2 years.
To see previous posts about my internship in the Canadian Parliament, check out post about: giving my dad a tour, a typical day in Oct 06, Dion takes over Liberals in Dec 06, and holiday dinner in the Parliementary restaurant,
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