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a new dawn in Canada

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Looks like we've elected a new style of government in Canada. I hope I'm wrong.

Canada's always either been ruled by a "Conservative" or "Liberal" (read, centrist) government. Recently, the Conservative party has formed the government in the Bush style: being fiscally profligate; socially regressive; and generally acting in disregard for tradition when it comes to how it operates. For instance, using the unelected Senate to kill a bill passed by the elected lower house.

But today the usual pattern of see-sawing between the conservative and centrist parties finally broke: fully 1/3 of the parliament is now occupied by a genuine leftist party.

I'm happy that the leftists have had their biggest showing in history, and I suspect it's for the right reasons. But what concerns me is that we might be heading into a combatitive, US-style two party system in which the two parties engage each other constantly in unproductive war in stead of compromise. Already there are calls from right wing observers that the Conservative government must now push its mandate to the fullest extent.

Cry the beloved country.