“Oh God, Not An Election”

On the general lack of enthusiasm for a thing that will almost certainly happen soon.

The Vancouver Sun’s Barbara Yaffe is pleased to find that the latest Conservative ad, a schmaltzy affair featuring Stephen Harper, his children, and a Canadian flag, is at least a welcome change from the recent spate of Tory ads attempting to “kneecap the Grit leader.” The Liberals meanwhile, instead of hammering the Conservatives on the recent Bev Oda affair and election fraud charges brought against party Tory senators, have sent Michael Ignatieff on a meet-and-greet tour. “Could the crowd around Ignatieff be lacking in the political instincts Liberals once demonstrated under Jean Chretien?” she asks. Does Kirk Douglas take a long time to deliver an Oscar speech?

The Toronto Star’s Chantal Hébert writes that if there is an election this spring, it will be because the NDP judges their fortunes will only decline if they delay triggering a vote for another year. “Over that period, fatigue with the Conservative regime could increase and, with it, the inclination to vote for the Liberals,” who despite the NDP’s best efforts most voters still consider the only viable alternative to govern. A year from now the NDP might also be without Jack Layton, whom Hébert calls the party’s “biggest election asset.” He’s been battling health problems and without a stellar heir apparent, the party might want one last kick at the can while he’s still in charge.

“Oh God, not an election,” shudders a bored Michael Harris in the Ottawa Sun. He notes that turn out in the 2004 election was 60.4 per cent, roughly the same percentage of Iraqis who risked their lives to cast a ballot in 2005. To understand our low turnout, Harris says you need look no further than our first-past-the-post voting system, which renders a vote by a Liberal in Alberta or a Conservative in Montreal akin to “buying a lottery ticket the day after the draw — no chance to win.” He suggests a system of proportional representation would go a long way to getting out the vote, which is true, but it wouldn’t address another problem, namely that Canada’s politicians remain an uninspiring bunch.