Will the new coalition government be unprecedented or undemocratic?

[velvetpage]

Not according to the professor of political science who writes for the Toronto Star. I agree with him.

Basically, if you're not happy with the coalition? You get to do what electorates always do between elections - take notes on the successes and failures of the government as it is running and use that information to inform your future votes. What our parliament is doing is entirely democratic and in keeping with parliamentary law and tradition the world over. Whether or not it's the right thing to do, as long as it's within the powers granted to the House of Commons by the Constitution, there's nothing you can do about it legally.

Which is going to hurt the country more - a few weeks of political instability as the new Coalition government forms, or another election worth $300 million while nothing gets done? Changes in government ALWAYS produce fluctuations in the stock market, and they're usually short-term. It's unfair and overly simplistic to blame the recent fluctuations on the state of the government, considering that at the same time, markets around the world are reacting to the massive credit crunch, the bailout package, the announcement that the U.S. is officially in recession. . . the list goes on.

Don't mind me - I'm arguing with persons not present.

Comments

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

Personally, I would have liked to see the Conservatives take everything but the subsidy cut off the table. It would have made it a little harder for the opposition to obfuscate their motives that way.

Frankly, I'm for abolishing corporate donations as well as the subsidies, and putting a low cap on individual donations. Let the parties hold bake sales and rely on volunteer work. The health of democracy is not measured by the number of campaign placards per telephone pole.

I am basically fed up with the lot of them. There is not a single party that I could honestly bring myself to vote for in good conscience at the moment. This mess is a disgusting spectacle of arrogance on the part of the Conservatives, desperation on the part of the Liberals, rank ambition on the part of the NDP, and opportunism on the part of the Bloc. And none of the options (continued Conservative rule, coalition government, or another election) appeal to me one bit.

Feh.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I felt that way at the thought of a Conservative government, and at the way the Liberals have been running scared for so long. I thought it was pathetically funny that Harper proved unable to goad the Liberals into bringing down the government when he finally wanted it brought down - so he had to bring it down himself.

However, now that the Opposition has shown they have a backbone however short and hard to find, I respect them a little better than I did before. That respect will grow if they manage to make this coalition work for any length of time. If they manage to put off the next election until at least next fall, I'll consider the endeavour to have been more success than failure, and if it manages to go longer than that, I'll be thrilled.

I think everyone is better off when politicians agree to govern the country through co-operation and dialogue.