Though I am many years past when I lievd in Nova Scotia, I call myself a Bluenoser and love elections there. Yesterday's was a classic and a good-ish outcome, though the numbers might be reversed:
Last night, the Conservatives were elected or leading in 23 seats, four short of the 27 needed to form a majority. The New Democrats won 20 and the Liberals trailed with nine seats. Liberal Leader Francis MacKenzie announced he was quitting politics after failing to win his own riding. With little debate to spice the campaign, it came down to whom voters trusted to lead the province. NDP Leader Darrell Dexter, a former journalist and lawyer, was the most experienced of the three political leaders and he gave Mr. MacDonald a tough fight. Polls showed the two running neck and neck until the last two weeks of the campaign, when the Conservatives pulled ahead. Despite their loss, the New Democrats improved their standing in the legislature. Their 20 seats represent a record high. Mr. Dexter told supporters he took some consolation in depriving the Conservatives of a majority. "But they did get re-elected," he said, promising to continue the party's tradition of co-operating with the governing Conservatives.Darrell ran the bar at Kings when I was in undergrad and is supported by Graham Steele, one of my fellow Largs diasporans. Both are inordinately clever guys. These robust minorities and the co-operation they cause are a great model for all Parliaments and Parliamentarians. I said it before but given my druthers I'd outlaw majorities.
Comments
David Janes - June 14, 2006 9:56 am
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given my druthers I'd outlaw majorities
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Well spoken as a NDPer!
Alan - June 14, 2006 9:59 am
Well, as a Libertarian, you might want a guaranteed minority <i>and</i> proporational representation to have half a chance of your representative making a peep of any kind in the public debate.
David Janes - June 14, 2006 11:24 am
For the record, I'm not a [lL]ibertarian, I'm a F-ckoffist (memberships available). The essential part of our platform is not only that government should minimize its impact on our lives in terms of bossing usaround, but that government does have a useful role in stopping corporations, NGOs, unions and even other people who would likewise coerce us -- i.e. make them "f-ck off".
Branding may be an issue in terms of making this a national movement.
Alan - June 14, 2006 11:33 am
I would, then, transfer my pithiness to the good Fukovian Party to be. I am thinking of a branding that uses purples and pinks with plenty of stars and planets with rings around them in the background.
David Janes - June 14, 2006 12:14 pm
Tsk tsk, Al. On a similar topic, here's an article from a couple of years back that had me laughing for about a week:
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Toward the end of the debate they asked each candidate to talk about his role models. Jim Talent mentioned two former colleagues from the House of Representatives, one of them, interestingly, being Floyd Flake. Jean Carnahan cited Harry Truman. The Libertarian candidate, Tamara Millay, defied expectations when she did not name Zefram Cochran (inventor of the warp drive) and selected instead Thomas Jefferson.
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Alan - June 14, 2006 12:16 pm
We of the minority ought to have a sense of humour. Sadly, there is an inverse relationship usually.