Is Canada a nation of political strategists Video

Is Canada a nation of political strategists?

It is curious, given recent events.
First, Canadian Press reveals, the Tories
spent $108,000 of taxpayers' money
on a dog and pony show in Saint John,
ostensibly to inform Canadians of their progress
on delivering the economic stimulus program.
In fact, the so-called town hall meeting
was nothing more than an orchestrated photo op for Conservative loyalists.
Next, as the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports,
a disproportionate amount of stimulus money
has ventured into the closely-held bastions
of Tory influence in Nova Scotia
As much as twice the money has been earmarked
for sparsely populated Conservative ridings
as for more demographically crowded Liberal constituencies.
Finally, there's the "code blue" fiasco
in which a Tory MP was photographed bearing a promotional prop
that displayed the party's wordmark
in place of the Government of Canada logo,
suggesting there was no distinction between partisan interests
and a democratically elected assembly.
Through it all, Sweater man Harper and his apologists
merely smiled and reminded Canadians
of every ideological stripe
that this government was far too busy
conducting the people's business at a time of economic emergency
to worry about the petty complaints of some parliamentarians.
to a remarkable degree, Canadians have bought it.
The Loyal Opposition
will have another chance to topple their enemies
when the government tables a new crime bill later this week.
But the chances of this are slim to none.
The public's appetite for an election has not improved since the Liberals removed its support for
sweater man Harper over his handling of the economy
a few weeks ago.
All of which raises a question
Is there any substantive difference, these days,
between a minority and a majority government?
Canadians in the breaking years of the 21st Century
are magnificently armed with communications
and research tools that render them more sophisticated
than their forebears.
The rise of social media, 24/7
news coverage, and nearly incessant public opinion polling
have given them a bird's eye view in the operations of their own minds. In effect, the country has become a nation of political strategists.
This is, perhaps, the inevitable democratization
of skills once preserved and protected by the chattering class.
Still, the results seem clear:
Minority governments are only unstable inasmuch as everyday folks limit their engagement in the political process
to their occasional trips to the polling station;
today, everyday folks are constantly checking the balance of power
and manipulating its administration by registering their likes and dislikes between elections.