|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Mar 22, 2011 19:29:28 GMT -5
So, it seems that we Canucks might face another election sometime in may -- the third federal election in five years -- over the disagreement surrounding the budget. www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/03/22/pol-budget-main.htmlNo clue if this will actually end in an election, but if it does, I can't see it working in the Tories' favour. I've mixed feelings about it. Of course, election speculation is thrown around every time there's a disagreement, so who knows if it'll actually happen?
|
|
|
Post by Smurfette Principle on Mar 22, 2011 19:42:11 GMT -5
Wait... you guys have elections when you have disagreements? *is confuzzled*
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Mar 22, 2011 19:55:04 GMT -5
The ruling party can call an election at any time, so long as they do it within five years of the last election. The Conservatives have a minority government, meaning that although they have more seats (power in Parliament based on who won in each electoral district/riding in the last election, basically) than any other single party, the other parties collectively have more seats than the Cons. As such, the Conservatives may try to call an election to get a majority, or at least increase the number of seats they control, which would make it easier for them to get their way.
We have plenty of disagreements in Parliament on a daily basis, but the budget tends to generate a lot of controversy. Right now, it's the other three major parties (BQ, Liberals and NDP) against the Conservatives, and it sounds like the Cons aren't open to negotiate. That could change, though.
|
|
|
Post by MaybeNever on Mar 23, 2011 14:11:47 GMT -5
I've always liked British-style democracy (although I realize that Canada's system differs somewhat). I think electoral schedule rigidity is a somewhat un-democratic aspect of American politics.
|
|
|
Post by junastarrider on Mar 23, 2011 15:45:32 GMT -5
I have a bad feeling that the Tories will win again, albeit with a minority. I know we should be grateful, considering that our 'right wing' party is probably more left than your Democrats, but Harper and his tactics annoy me to no end, from making sure every member of his party toes party lines, dropping anyone who dissagrees with his policy, and making attack ads against the opposition WHILE THERE IS NO ELECTION.
Not to mention when Stephen Harper smiles, he looks like a child molester. I'd put up a pic, but I'm still figuring out how to post images on this forum.
|
|
|
Post by Old Viking on Mar 23, 2011 16:12:00 GMT -5
@ MaybeNever: if elections occurred here any more frequently I might bid this cruel world goodbye.
|
|
|
Post by nickiknack on Mar 23, 2011 16:28:37 GMT -5
I have a bad feeling that the Tories will win again, albeit with a minority. I know we should be grateful, considering that our 'right wing' party is probably more left than your Democrats, but Harper and his tactics annoy me to no end, from making sure every member of his party toes party lines, dropping anyone who dissagrees with his policy, and making attack ads against the opposition WHILE THERE IS NO ELECTION. Not to mention when Stephen Harper smiles, he looks like a child molester. I'd put up a pic, but I'm still figuring out how to post images on this forum. I'll take your bs any day over the bs that goes on here in the States...Yeah, I'll be more than happy to bad mouth my own country, we suck, and it's been this way since Reagan.
|
|
|
Post by CtraK on Mar 23, 2011 16:42:50 GMT -5
I've always liked British-style democracy Fair enough. 8 o'clock tomorrow, O'Hare airport, there'll be a shipping container with Cameron and Osborne in there. Now, there won't be any air holes in that container, so someone will need to open it at some point within 12 hours of that time, but - nah, I'm sure it'll be fine...
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Mar 23, 2011 19:54:59 GMT -5
I have a bad feeling that the Tories will win again, albeit with a minority. Yeah, I can see them getting a minority again. I think they might lose some seats even if they do win, though, which would be something of a victory in my books, even if I would rather they just lost the election. I'd be fine with a Liberal minority at this point. Those annoy the hell out of me. Making attack ads when there isn't any election in sight is just poor form. Canadians want their government to work together, we don't want a slap fight every ten seconds. Also, the anti-drug commercials they've been releasing lately are utterly ridiculous. Even the conservatives I know think so. To post pics: [img*]image url here[/img*] minus the asterisks. "Hey little girl, want a kitten?" I served Harper in a restaurant once, before he was PM. The guy is roughly a million feet tall, and rather terrifying up close. I'm sure he's a decent enough guy, but he creeps me out when I see him. And, in fairness, I feel the same way when I see Jack Layton on TV -- I feel like I need to take a shower whenever they show him on the news. It has nothing to do with his politics, it's just something about him rubs me the wrong way. The thing that sucks is that I'm in Harper's riding, so it can feel like I'm wasting my time when I go out to vote -- the chances of the seat going to anyone other than the Conservatives is low. I do it anyway, as I recognize that the "oh well, they'll never win" mentality doesn't help things, but it's still frustrating. I've always liked British-style democracy (although I realize that Canada's system differs somewhat). I think electoral schedule rigidity is a somewhat un-democratic aspect of American politics. It has its upsides and its downsides. Voter apathy is one of the major downsides.
|
|
|
Post by MaybeNever on Mar 23, 2011 20:58:02 GMT -5
Voter apathy is a problem in pretty much all democracies that are more than a generation or two old (and probably in all democracies, period). Lenin wrote that the masses are apolitical, and I think he pegged it pretty well; when it's an effort to get even 60% of the electorate out, it's hard to say that people really care deeply. Even 2008, showing the highest turnout in the US since 1968 (when the voting age was moved to 18 from 21), featured just 62-63%. And this was with an exceptionally popular candidate. I've always liked British-style democracy Fair enough. 8 o'clock tomorrow, O'Hare airport, there'll be a shipping container with Cameron and Osborne in there. Now, there won't be any air holes in that container, so someone will need to open it at some point within 12 hours of that time, but - nah, I'm sure it'll be fine... Don't send me your trash! I said British-style democracy, not British-style politicians. They're just like ours except a little more likely to use the word "crumpet".
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Mar 23, 2011 21:06:57 GMT -5
It's a problem no matter where you go, obviously, but I'm mostly talking about the increase in apathy that comes from having numerous elections in a short period of time. In the last election, only somewhere in the area of 13.5 million (out of roughly 33 million) people participated in voting. IIRC, it was one of the lowest voter turnouts in the nation's history.
|
|
|
Post by MaybeNever on Mar 23, 2011 21:11:32 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, I see what you're saying. Kind of reminds me of stories of places where there are lots of tests of disaster equipment, or air raid sirens back when that was a concern - nobody would act when the real thing came along, because they had learned to dismiss the tests.
|
|
|
Post by junastarrider on Mar 23, 2011 22:11:05 GMT -5
"Hey little girl, want a kitten?" . Oh God... BURN IT WITH FIRE! Hell, Chretien wasn't half as creepy looking, despite a paralyzed face, and the 'Shawinigan handshake' (Basically, choking you a la Simpsons)
|
|
|
Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Mar 24, 2011 3:03:29 GMT -5
Chretien is a tough old bastard. The guy is like 500 years old, but I wouldn't want to get into a fight with him.
Also, wasn't he the one who had some random nut try to break in and assassinate him, and ended up brandishing a marble statue to protect himself and his wife while waiting for the police to arrive? Pretty sure it was him.
Who needs body guards when you've got a pissed off Quebecer?
|
|
|
Post by matante on Mar 24, 2011 6:25:17 GMT -5
Soapstone, not marble And the Conservatives' ads against the opposition aren't only childish and low, they're also damn weak. "Gilles Duceppe is too montrealer to represent the regions' people." Coming from Montreal is the worst that they could find? He had to come from somewhere, and the most populated city around sounds likely enough... And given that as long as Québec is part of Canada, Montreal will be a canadian city, I don't want a government that will reject it and its million inhabitants to earn some petty regionalists' votes.
|
|