When you’re a leader of a national political party, you no doubt need to keep on the positives and see signs of growth in every corner of the country.
But it’s with interest that we read Jack Layton’s thoughts on the recent Quebec election and the harbinger it provides as to what is to come for Democratic socialism in the province.
The ascension of Mario Dumont to the top of the political pile in Quebec is seen by Mr. Layton as a sign that the province is ready for change and it’s a place that he feels his party may be able to step up into.
Which looks pretty darn impressive at first sight, but then you look at the results of last Monday’s election and you kind of wonder how Jack reads election results and polls.
Mario Dumont’s party the Action Democratique, is a centre right party, nowhere in its election campaign did the mind meld with Layton’s view of Canada and Quebec ever take place. In fact, horror of horrors, many suggest that Dumont’s mind set may put him closer to the Conservatives of Stephen Harper than the NDP of Layton.
If anything, the stunning rise of the ADQ is probably more similar to that of the old Union Nationale days, a party that appealed to the middle class, wasn’t too keen on taxation and was decidedly not particularly socialist in philosophy.
In Quebec on Monday, the closest kin to the NDP the Parti Quebecois suffered its worst political defeat since the 1970’s, its long sought after goal of yet another referendum quashed for now and the economic levers to implement socialist policies kept far away from Andre Boisclair’s hands.
Even the Liberals which while not quite cousins to the NDP, suffered a severe spanking at the hands of the voters who delivered a rather nasty verdict on the policies of Jean Charest, who mixes that old Liberal tactic of making sure enough money rolls in just in time for election day, with a bit of a right wing tilt to appeal to the business and middle class.
But it’s with interest that we read Jack Layton’s thoughts on the recent Quebec election and the harbinger it provides as to what is to come for Democratic socialism in the province.
The ascension of Mario Dumont to the top of the political pile in Quebec is seen by Mr. Layton as a sign that the province is ready for change and it’s a place that he feels his party may be able to step up into.
Which looks pretty darn impressive at first sight, but then you look at the results of last Monday’s election and you kind of wonder how Jack reads election results and polls.
Mario Dumont’s party the Action Democratique, is a centre right party, nowhere in its election campaign did the mind meld with Layton’s view of Canada and Quebec ever take place. In fact, horror of horrors, many suggest that Dumont’s mind set may put him closer to the Conservatives of Stephen Harper than the NDP of Layton.
If anything, the stunning rise of the ADQ is probably more similar to that of the old Union Nationale days, a party that appealed to the middle class, wasn’t too keen on taxation and was decidedly not particularly socialist in philosophy.
In Quebec on Monday, the closest kin to the NDP the Parti Quebecois suffered its worst political defeat since the 1970’s, its long sought after goal of yet another referendum quashed for now and the economic levers to implement socialist policies kept far away from Andre Boisclair’s hands.
Even the Liberals which while not quite cousins to the NDP, suffered a severe spanking at the hands of the voters who delivered a rather nasty verdict on the policies of Jean Charest, who mixes that old Liberal tactic of making sure enough money rolls in just in time for election day, with a bit of a right wing tilt to appeal to the business and middle class.
Even with all of that largess behind Charest barely could hold his own seat and saw his party cling to a thin surplus of votes to hold power in a minority government at Quebec's national assembly. Nowhere in the results of Monday, was there anything that resembled a shift to the left or any desire to claim the ground that Layton seems to think is now ripe for the taking.
Even the Bloc Quebecois which in recent history has been the one key roadblock to potential NDP success in the province is reported to be stumbling in polling numbers, possibly giving leader Gilles Duceppe cause to pack his parachute and try to land in Quebec City as the new leader of the now rebuilding PQ.
It could be that one snippet of sunshine that gives the NDP leader hope, perhaps he thinks that the results show that the sovereigntist block of votes may be set to scatter to the wind. A situation that perhaps, would give his would be candidates in Quebec a chance to collect left leaning voters looking for a new home.
Past history is not on his side, Quebec for the NDP has been nothing but a political graveyard through the years, with candidate after candidate finding little success and the party itself suffering from a particularly low profile, thanks mainly in the old days to the large hold the Liberals once held on the province and more recently to the reach and appeal of the Bloc philosophy.
Whenever Prime Minister Harper is forced to go to the Governor General to call another election, it would for now appear that his party may have the most to gain in Quebec. The Liberal’s received a rather nasty wake up call Monday, left as nothing but a party of the massive ridings of Montreal and Western Quebec suburbs of the Ottawa area in the nation’s capital.
If Quebec has taken a tilt to the centre or even further to the right, as seems to be the indication from the ballots on Monday, then it will be Harper who may benefit the most from the change in dynamic in the province.
Layton is probably correct in his observation that the results were a rejection of the province's two old parties. The people of Quebec were weary of the ancient battles and anxious for a new face, a new voice and new direction, but from all appearances that direction is not going down the same road as the NDP.
Even the Bloc Quebecois which in recent history has been the one key roadblock to potential NDP success in the province is reported to be stumbling in polling numbers, possibly giving leader Gilles Duceppe cause to pack his parachute and try to land in Quebec City as the new leader of the now rebuilding PQ.
It could be that one snippet of sunshine that gives the NDP leader hope, perhaps he thinks that the results show that the sovereigntist block of votes may be set to scatter to the wind. A situation that perhaps, would give his would be candidates in Quebec a chance to collect left leaning voters looking for a new home.
Past history is not on his side, Quebec for the NDP has been nothing but a political graveyard through the years, with candidate after candidate finding little success and the party itself suffering from a particularly low profile, thanks mainly in the old days to the large hold the Liberals once held on the province and more recently to the reach and appeal of the Bloc philosophy.
Whenever Prime Minister Harper is forced to go to the Governor General to call another election, it would for now appear that his party may have the most to gain in Quebec. The Liberal’s received a rather nasty wake up call Monday, left as nothing but a party of the massive ridings of Montreal and Western Quebec suburbs of the Ottawa area in the nation’s capital.
If Quebec has taken a tilt to the centre or even further to the right, as seems to be the indication from the ballots on Monday, then it will be Harper who may benefit the most from the change in dynamic in the province.
Layton is probably correct in his observation that the results were a rejection of the province's two old parties. The people of Quebec were weary of the ancient battles and anxious for a new face, a new voice and new direction, but from all appearances that direction is not going down the same road as the NDP.
While Jack may think that he’s going to be in the thick of the pack whenever the federal election comes around, we suspect that he may be a little further away from a breakthrough than his latest declarations seem to suggest.
No comments:
Post a Comment