17 October 2007

Out of Touch...

The headlines today were all screaming "Election Blueprint" in reference to last night's Speech From the Throne and the establishment of the Government's agenda for the coming months. Both the Globe and Mail and the Halifax Chronicle-Herald portrayed the Speech as something upon which the Conservatives would rest their hopes in an election campaign. Let's face it, elections are sexy. They're full of intriguing storylines, angles, twists, plot devices, and they always have a thrilling conclusion in which one party rises supreme above all others. So desperate for another election campaign are they that they ignore reality.

I have maintained for a long time now that there will be no election in 2007. I'm on the verge of updating that forecast to suggest that there may not even be one in 2008. The opposition parties can snipe and bray all they want, they will ultimately back down. The Liberal Party of Canada has no chance of winning an election at this time. They haven't got the money, they haven't got the organization, they haven't got the people, and they don't have the policy. It has been well over two years since the last Liberal Policy Convention, which is odd given that there's something in the party constitution which states that policy conventions are to be biennial. They have been rudderless since Paul Martin ran out of good ideas sometime in September 2005. They've had ideas, but they have certainly not been good: banning the notwithstanding clause, anyone? They've had ideas, but they haven't translated them into policy. Firing off the name of your favourite city in Japan isn't a policy, it's not a blueprint, it's a word. In the absence of any semblance of preparedness for a six-week campaign against a well-oiled and well-financed Conservative machine, there is simply no way that Dion would commit political hari-kari and further fan the flames of the party's self-immolation by calling for an election.

And yet the media still insists that an election is imminent. It is no wonder that they are regarded as out of touch.

Speaking of, M. Duceppe is having a hell of a time trying to get out his speech. It's turning into a blathering rant without any sense of direction. I can't believe they're actually semi-serious about their intention to oppose the Throne Speech and therefore be angling for an election.

5 comments:

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

I believe the leadership convention also doubled as a policy convention. Seem to remember draft resolutions on "Quebec as a nation" and that sort of thing.

RGM said...

There are always resolutions passed at these conventions but they are distinct sideshows, poorly attended, and don't garner any attention that deserves the name.
They need to have 5 days of nothing but dialogue and debate on what they stand for, what they'll press for, and where they want to go.

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

Yes, they probably do need it, but I'm just as happy with them not getting it... :-)

RGM said...

Ha! That's a fair point when you look at it from the partisan perspective, and I'll admit I've taken not-quite-small amounts of spiteful joy in watching my former party twisting in the wind. I would like to see a renewed party, though, in the interest of having a stronger Parliament that relies more on policy and less on silly bantering.

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

If they were smart, they'd do what the Conservatives did in March 2005.

"Hidden agenda" arguments became much, much harder to sustain after that.