Unite the Left?
Democracy is about choice. It’s about the right to look at differing visions of the country and make a choice about which you think is best. Some people say the more political parties there are, the more varied the choice and, thus, the stronger the democracy. Is this true? When different political parties take similar stances, is that still a choice?
It has become painfully obvious that the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party no longer represent distinctive options to the Canadian electorate. Stephen Harper has proven time and again that he is willing to compromise his beliefs in search of his majority government (to see how far Harper has come, look up some old Reform Party platforms; the Conservatives are pushing for none of it). The Conservative Party is now far more centrist than it was intended to be, the most glaring proof being the acceptance of deficit economics. Meanwhile, Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals are suffering an identity crisis. Harper’s strategic move to the centre has taken a large piece of the electorate away from the Liberals. Stephane Dion’s response was to propose a radical environmental policy that was intended to win over all progressive voters. The left-of-centre vote never unified behind Dion (remaining split between the Liberals, NDP and the Greens) and drove more traditional Liberal supporters into the arms of the Conservatives. With that strategy deemed a failure, Ignatieff has been forced to subtly acknowledge that his version of the Liberal Party wouldn’t do things very differently than the Conservatives (see Ignatieff’s support of the budget). The Liberals are being squeezed out of the political picture, and since they can no longer offer anything distinctive in terms of policy, they are left hoping Canadians will think Ignatieff is the more capable leader.
The result is that our main two political parties do not really offer us a choice at all. Their approaches to the economy, foreign affairs, trade, etc… vary only slightly. The consequence is that Canadians are denied a true democratic choice; left-of-centre voters are forced to either support the NDP—which will never appeal to enough Canadians to form a government—or vote for the Liberals and watch little change. Obviously Ignatieff is going to get a chance to position himself as a real alternative to Harper. Should this fail, the Liberals need to seriously consider a “unite the left” initiative with the NDP. Otherwise the left-of-centre voters of this country will be left without the ability to vote in a government of their liking. On the few issues that the Liberals and Conservatives still clash (such as the environment) the Liberals and NDP have similar positions, so it’s a natural move. The 2008 coalition pact is proof that Liberal and NDP supporters can find enough common ground to make this work. Critics will say this will Americanize our party system, leading to extreme partisanship. But look at how partisan we already are; can it really increase? And no one can deny that the last U.S. election offered American voters two clearly defined choices. Reducing the number of parties in Parliament will increase the chances of a majority government, meaning our national parties will not have to pander to the sovereigntist Bloc. Merge and compromise with the NDP, and leave us with two parties that offer distinct visions of the country. It may mean a less varied choice, but it will be a more democratic one.
Related posts:
- Michael Ignatieff is Playing the Waiting Game As we’re all probably aware of by now, (since NOTHING...
- Liberals Support Conservative Budget Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff announced today that he would support...
- RUN IGGY RUN It appears that Michael Ignatieff is doing what Liberals do...
- Baseless: Stephen Harper’s Liberal Solution HCBAX9NPSJB8 It is a truism that the Conservative’s base votes....
- Martin vs. Chretien….The Final Curtain? So Denis Coderre is the latest casualty in the internecine...
Tags: coalition, Conservative Party, democracy, Liberal Party, michael ignatieff, NDP, stephen harper
Loading ...
February 18th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
NDP voters will not support a merger with the Liberals. If that happens watch as our voter turnout drops even further. We need more choices, not less, and until we reform the electoral system and achieve proportional representation we’re never going to get a government that the people of Canada actually want.
As for the coalition – that was a positive step, but not because the two parties merged (or even wanted to), but because they wanted to cooperate. Unfortunately, it turned out that Ignatieff only cared to use if for partisan gains.