The Great Dictator

Man, was I ever wrong about the Canadian election. First, I didn't think Prime Minister Harper would win a majority of seats, but he did. He did it by character assasination, inuendo, blatant lies and all the dirty tricks you can imagine. Secondly, I was greatly impressed by the youth movement to get out the vote, thinking that young voters could hardly stomach Harper. Wrong again! They voted for him overwhelmingly. A number of survays revealed that uppermost in young minds was first, the economy, second, health care. If the economy tanked, they might have to move back in with their parents, and they were concerned about health care being available when they would need it later in life. And, after all, was Stephen Harper not the guarantor of the economy? Not so fast.

The Canadian economy is healthy because of Paul Martin who, with the Chrétien government following the huge deficit left by Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives, nursed the nation back to fiscal health and passed legislation to make sure our banks would not follow the example of the U.S. financial institutions. As a result, our banks enjoy a reputation second to none on the world stage.

But no, our blind and naive electorate just didn't get it. They saw Harper in his Captain Canada suit with CANADA enblazened across his chest - how juvenile can you get? They flocked to him. Canada and Harper are synonyms! On TV, we saw his supporters holding Harper and Canada placards. Presumably, other candidates are not credible Canadians, especially Harvard professors who are only here on a lark, which our learned fool Iggy did little to dispel.

One credible Canadian, however, is Jack Layton. His victory, if you can call it that, was displacing the Liberals as official opposition. As if it matters! It was not an NDP victory as such, it was a Layton victory. There is a difference. Jack could have led the Rhinocerous Party to a similar "victory". That man really resonated with the people. Especially in Quebec, where a number of his candidates, whose names could have been chosen from a phone book, won handily. Actually, they were students. One especially, hardly speaks French, spent the prior week in Las Vegas, doesn't know where her riding is, but now is one of our legislators. Who knows, she may do well. I feel really sorry for Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Québecois who, despite his avowed purpose of Quebec separation, gained the respect of all parties as a skilled parliamentarian. He had said that as long as Québec remained in Canada, he would be a loyal Canadian and act accordingly. He did so. Along with Ignatieff, he lost his seat and the Bloc is decimated. Sad, but when the wave comes, look out!

I am willing to bet that after four years of a Harper dictatorship, and that is what it will be, we might have trouble finding an elector who will admit to having voted for him. You can hold me to that.