Politics Random, Random

[skatingfan]

Coverage of today's election in Canada

[Togtdyalttai]

For our Canadian members: I've been catching up a bit in the last few days on what's going on and expected to happen in your election. To me, it seems like your Conservative Party, or at least its leader, is a sane, reasonable party that, while I wouldn't vote for them, I wouldn't lose sleep thinking about what they'd do with power. Is that what it seems like to you? I've heard that their platform was much less moderate in 2019.

[skatingfan]

For our Canadian members: I've been catching up a bit in the last few days on what's going on and expected to happen in your election. To me, it seems like your Conservative Party, or at least its leader, is a sane, reasonable party that, while I wouldn't vote for them, I wouldn't lose sleep thinking about what they'd do with power. Is that what it seems like to you? I've heard that their platform was much less moderate in 2019.

I think you've summed up the Conservative Party platform pretty well. The current leader, Erin O'Toole, has moved the party to the centre during the past few months in an attempt to win over more centrist voters that rejected the previous direction of the party.

[JazzNU]

For our Canadian members: I've been catching up a bit in the last few days on what's going on and expected to happen in your election. To me, it seems like your Conservative Party, or at least its leader, is a sane, reasonable party that, while I wouldn't vote for them, I wouldn't lose sleep thinking about what they'd do with power. Is that what it seems like to you? I've heard that their platform was much less moderate in 2019.

I think you've summed up the Conservative Party platform pretty well. The current leader, Erin O'Toole, has moved the party to the centre during the past few months in an attempt to win over more centrist voters that rejected the previous direction of the party.

Would he honor the platform being run on or is he trying to pull a fast one on the public, just trying to get elected?

[skatingfan]

Would he honor the platform being run on or is he trying to pull a fast one on the public, just trying to get elected?

Canadian politicians are kind of weird - generally speaking they do the thing they say they're going to do - not always all of them, or as quickly as some would like - but traditionally a party platform does become governing policy. In this case it's unlikely to matter because the Conservatives aren't likely to form a majority government, and the other parties are left of centre parties so they're unlikely to support their positions. The most likely result is a sizeable Liberal minority government that will be supported by the NDP.

[Togtdyalttai]

If the Conservatives win a plurality, who would they turn to in order to prop up their government? Bloc Québécois? Or does that not make political sense?

[skatingfan]

If the Conservatives win a plurality, who would they turn to in order to prop up their government? Bloc Québécois? Or does that not make political sense?

That's not really clear. 15 years ago then Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept a Conservative minority government going by splitting the opposition parties, but it's not clear that the same thing could happen now. The Conservatives don't have a natural ally or partner among the other major parties so if they stay in government they will be doing deals with the other parties on a case by case basis. I think the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc would defeat such a government in short order & try to form a coalition government, but it remains to be seen whether any this will be necessary.

[ti-amie]

I read that Trudeau will form a government. What does this mean for Canada going forward?

[skatingfan]

I read that Trudeau will form a government. What does this mean for Canada going forward?

The election decided nothing. The seat counts are almost identical to what they were before the election. The Liberals will continue to govern as they have with the support of the NDP, and we'll probably be back at the polls again in two years. Typically a minority government will stay in power for two years before either the opposition gets tired of supporting them, or, like this year, the governing party thinks they can win a majority. This might have been Trudeau's last election - 3 wins is traditionally the most a leader will do, and that means we might be into a Liberal leadership campaign in 2 years followed by an election. Personally, if that happens, I will be supporting the current Deputy Prime Minister Christa Freeland. She has been fantastic as a minister in the government for the past 6 years - first as Foreign Affairs Minister, and now as Finance Minister. If you're not familiar with her you should be able to find some clips on YouTube from her appearances as a guest on Bill Maher's show.

[ti-amie]

As was widely predicted the GQP is interested in the national debt again.

[ti-amie]

[the Moz]

After 16 years, Angela Merkel is standing down as German Chancellor tomorrow. Her style of leadership and governance is sorely lacking across many Western democracies these days. Yet she was an effective national leader, a measured de facto leader of Europe and a principled defender of the liberal democratic order. She will be missed.

[Suliso]

Difficult to predict who'll replace her... As for being a leader of EU that kind of comes out naturally from Germany being the largest economy in that block. If the next German chancellor is inept maybe Macron could challenge for this "title", but nobody else really.

[the Moz]

The fascinating aspect to German leadership of Europe is to see how their understandable ambivalence to the role has evolved over the decades following two disastrous wars.

[Togtdyalttai]

After 16 years, Angela Merkel is standing down as German Chancellor tomorrow. Her style of leadership and governance is sorely lacking across many Western democracies these days. Yet she was an effective national leader, a measured de facto leader of Europe and a principled defender of the liberal democratic order. She will be missed.

She's not actually standing down tomorrow. She'll still be the caretaker chancellor because it will be months in all likelihood before a coalition is formed.