As quoted in the Daily Courier, Kelowna-Lake Country MP Ron Cannan referred to the prospect of a coalition between the Liberals, NDP and BQ as “irresponsible and undemocratic”. I don’t understand how this would be undemocratic? Perhaps Cannan can’t do the math, but these three parties combined got a total of 61% of the popular vote in the recent federal election compared to the 38% received by the Conservatives. The three potential coalition parties combined also got 163 seats compared to 143 for the Tories. Either way you count it, the newly formed coalition has more public support than do the Conservatives.
Having just had an election and given the cost of having another one so soon thereafter, it is only reasonable for the Governor General to give this coalition a chance to govern if the Conservatives cannot muster the support of a majority of MPs in the House of Commons on a confidence vote. When this happens, Cannan, who has proven himself to be an even more mediocre MP than he was a city councillor, will find himself exactly where he belongs – sitting towards the back of the Opposition benches. This is not only democratic; it is also just.
Here is a good analysis of what brought this so-called “crisis” to a head by CBC’s Don Newman: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/05/f-vp-newman.html
How the rest of the world sees this in their headlines:
Huffington Post (US) — “Canadian leader shuts down Parliament in desperate attempt to stay in power”
The Austrialian (AUS) — “Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuts Parliament to keep power”
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