|
Monday June 22, 2009
In My Opinion! - A Parer Mio!
Iggy
better be ready for Steve Murphy
By
Angelo
Persichilli
THE HILL
TIMES
The
House is back in business this week, MPs are ready to to work, and
the voters will probably be back at the polls by the end of next
month.
Most people understand why the House is now sitting
and why MPs are back, but they're also confused about why there
might be yet another election when most Canadians are against it,
mainly because it will be the fourth in five years and only one year
after the last one. As well, according to the polls, voters aren't
ready to make any changes to their voting preferences.
Recall that Italy was the laughing stock of all western
democracies when they used to go to the polls almost every year.
Canada appears headed in the same direction, even though
everybody seems to be against it. I spoke with many MPs last week,
mainly Liberal, and the vast majority say they're against another
early election too. Canadians are against an early election and all
political leaders are against an early election, including Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP Leader Jack Layton are
also talking about the upcoming early vote as an "inevitable event,"
and not their preferred choice.
So, why might we go to the
polls this fall if nobody wants to? The answer is simple: the
Liberals found themselves in a bind. They believe that even if going
to the polls is not the best choice for them, to keep supporting the
government is much worse.
We can make all kinds of
rhetorical comments and condemnations about "this partisan decision
that is not in the best interest of Canadians but in the interest of
the Liberal Party," however, the reality is this is politics.
Last year it was Harper who believed an election was the
best thing to do, even if Canadians were against it. This year, it's
Ignatieff's turn.
So, I don't blame them for pushing the
country towards another early election and I understand that they
can't say they want an election because it's the best option for
their party at this time. But please, give us another intelligent
explanation because, up until now, all we've heard is John McCallum
ranting and Bob Rae preaching against Stephen Harper without telling
us what they would do differently.
I might remind Ignatieff
that his predecessor Stéphane Dion lost an election because he
didn't have an answer to that question asked by CTV Steve
Murphy.
Ignatieff, like Dion, is an academic, but he's
also a journalist and his English skills, among other things, are
definitely superior to Dion's. However, if he doesn't have a clear
answer to that simple question, he might soon see his title preceded
with the word "former" as well.
The Bloc Québécois has no
interest in stopping an election and the NDP is still not able to
articulate a political alternative either to the Conservative
government or to the Liberal opposition. It's up to Ignatieff and
Harper to come up with a solution to this conundrum.
I hope
that pretty soon the Prime Minister will tell the leader of the
opposition something like this: "Mr. Ignatieff, I have tried my best
to come up with the proper solution to this economic crisis. We have
reached some good results, but definitely they are not good enough
if even one Canadian is without a job. I want to work with you but
please, can you tell me what you have in mind?"
At that
point, Ignatieff should put his ideas on the table. Saying what he
would do in government is not enough. If he makes concrete proposals
and Harper turns them down, then he has no choice but to go to the
polls and Canadians will understand.
The only thing
Canadians are fed up with is another campaign based on political
rhetoric with the Conservatives asking Canadians to vote for them
because Ignatieff is incompetent and the Liberals asking for support
because Harper is mean. The reality is that Ignatieff is not
incompetent, Harper is not mean and, most of all, Canadians are not
stupid. They are fed up.
|
