FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Reform one, Bloc one, Canada one
Voting for a three-way tie, Canadians said a big maybe
By Hamish MacAulayIn the brief flicker that will not be remembered, election '97 ended and nothing changed. In a Western tradition older than bolo ties, Albertans turned on their televisions last Monday night to watch Peter and Lloyd announce that the election was over and the Liberals had won.
About a half-hour later, Eastern Canada turned off their televisions leaving only Westerners and political junkies to watch the witty banter and dynamic insights of CBC or CTV's Election Team '97 as they whiled away the hours waiting for a sense of futility to finally knock them out cold for the night.
With a slim Liberal win made larger than life by the crowded quarters on the other side of the house, we bid goodnight to democracy in Canada for another four years. Not long after the party platforms have gone back to the landfills that spawned them, the hundreds of campaign offices in suburban stripmalls across the country will disappear, their space lying empty waiting for the next bagel shop or software store. The odd assortment of people known as campaign workers will return to their real lives as job-seekers, political science majors and right-wing think tank employees to wait for the chance to rally the troops to the cause.
There was only one victory on Monday, only one result that in any way affected the status quo of Canadian politics. John Nunziata, party of one, took on the Liberal party when he rejected the GST. Chretien spanked the traitor's butt for having the audacity to question the party, but two years later Nunziata's constituents decided to elect the first Independent in decades. In a decision truly worthy of the name politics, it took the less-than-heroic Nunziata to strike the only blow against the tell 'em what they want, give 'em what you need mentality commonly referred to as the party system.
It was refreshing to see the normally Liberal faithful in the Maritimes take a small kick at the party-system cat as well when they tossed hard-core Liberal zealots David Dingwall and Doug Young. The brave voters will face the consequences of their actions as large infrastructure projects suddenly find homes in other ridings - the disloyal must be punished if the system is going to work.
In Calgary, we watched as voters bled Reform green and blue all over the map. Kenney and Anders, Reformers green enough to reek of diaper cream, shared Preston's coattails with the adult diaper gang such as Hanger and Lowther. In between there were candidates duking it out over political ground as unclear as what a Calgary MP of any political stripe might actually do in Ottawa. In the end, Calgary took the high road and turned down Jean Chretien's kind invitation to join the Canadian government.
The Liberals won. And the Bloc and Reform won in their little parts of Canada. At least the Bloc leader was honest as he rambled on about the party's success in holding on to its "majority" in Quebec. Preston held on to his party's illusions of national stature, but even this career-saving result must be disappointing. Not only did the third "national" party fail to make gains in Ontario, it lost its only seat outside of the Western hinterland it calls home.
No matter, the election that disturbed Canada's late 20th century slumber is now over. After a quick pee and drink of water, Canadians can go back to sleep knowing nothing has changed. Goodnight, sleep tight and don't let the referendum bugs bite.
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