Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Wasn't That A Party?
As I was watching the results of the Alberta election last night, one thing kept going through my head. The Alberta political alignment is a much more honest representation of the national political alignment until 2011. A right wing party and a centre right party fighting it out for power, only instead of Conservative and Liberals it was Wild Rose and Progressive Conservatives. I am relieved in a sense, because Alberta revealed itself as just another part of the country and not some odd foreign entity.
The breakdown of the vote also was interesting because it showed that even in Alberta, the ultra right can't yet breach the 40% ceiling. Now, given our totally screwed up electoral system, that may be enough for the rightists to take power there some day, but again, Alberta is no different than the rest of the country.
Recommend this Post
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really hope you're kidding about the "some odd foreign entity" thing. Otherwise, after all these years of knowing you, I'm pretty offended!
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the right-wing and the centre-right party duking it out, though. But keep in mind that the Redford pseudoTories are like the Liberals in a lot more ways than just policy (the Paul Martin Liberals specifically, as a tired old party that's been in power for too long, is entrenched in the establishment of the province, and boasts rampant corruption in its ranks). In other words, while we can be relieved that most of the outright crazies in the Progressive Conservative party have long since migrated to the second-place Wild Rose Party (and that the few who remained PCs have now lost their seats in this election), there’s still no more to be truly happy about in this result than left-wing Ontarians could be happy about when their own entrenched centre-right party won AGAIN.
Calgary Grit comes to a similar conclusion by the way, but follows it through to its grim ending: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/04/24/dan-arnold-albertas-tory-empire-strikes-back/
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a joke IP. What, my humor didn't shine through? I am shocked.
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw Dan's article a few minutes ago. I agree with his conclusions to a certain degree, but I am not sure Smith has the iron will to suppress the ultra-social conservatives that Harper did. We will see. Ben the Tiger thinks it is so, but I am not convinced. Harper is a unique character.
ReplyDeleteBut, I am sure you are happy that the NDP got 4 seats at least. I will take that good news.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that Alberta now has an actual divided multiparty system like the rest of the planet (except for the U.S., which is on a different planet anyway), which is what I wanted all along and was hoping for when Wild Rose appeared on the scene. If that's the case, then the centrists will take it sometimes and the right will take it sometimes, just like in other mostly-but-not-entirely conservative jurisdictions.
ReplyDeleteBut you never know--the pull of a one-party state is really really strong here, so Wild Rose could conceivably still take power next time, end up taking over the entire big tent that the PCs once called their own, and stay there for 40 years. The ability to take over the big tent would make them less scary by default, of course, but man, I sure hope that doesn't happen. I'd honestly rather have a genuinely right wing government be elected occasionally that has to fear getting knocked out of power, than one more big-tent centre-to-centre-right megaparty being in charge all the time.
Of course, if we had a rational electoral system, one party statism would disappear. Sigh. Someday.
ReplyDeleteAbout Redford -- she actually is a Tory. Just a Joe Clark Tory, which is a species I thought had been driven into extinction in Canadian politics.
ReplyDeleteBut the Red Tories are more resilient than I thought. Which is interesting.
About Smith -- well, this is a test. Either she can whip her motley crew into shape for the next election, or she'll go the way of Mario Dumont...
Range Rover v8 Diesel Specs
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article to read and very meaningful to me.
ReplyDeletePlease visit and share my post below:
2016 Ford Bronco Release Date
2016 Nissan Titan Specs
2016 Acura ILX Specs
2016 BMW 3 Series Facelift
2016 Audi A4 Release Date
2016 Cadillac SRX Release Date
2016 Buick Enclave Tuscan Edition
Best cure of all!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for visiting and sharing my post below :
mikipowerpoint
ReplyDeleteAre we supposed to take something from your not having posted since then?
beauty
My head is like a football. I think I’m gonna die. Tell me me-oh-my-oh-my! Wasn’t that a party!”
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom singing that 1980 Irish Rovers’ ditty as she cooked massive amounts of food for parties. While she sang about a raucous throw-down, the actual parties she threw were quite different. They were fairly tame but filled with warmth and hearty laughter.
My sister recently hosted a graduation party for my niece that reminded me how much I missed those parties. She invited friends and family, and though my mom died many years ago, all the dishes my mom used to make for backyard parties were there. So were the simple games, the family stories and the familiar laughter of voices I’ve known since I was a child.
After college, I moved away from the rural area where I grew up. While doing so has its advantages, some of which I choose not to trade, I really miss some things about being “back home.”
------------------------------------
Canon Nummer