Don't go into politics; you'll end up dead

You might notice me talk about Canadian politics a lot over the next few months. Not like I don't already talk lots about Canadian politics, but there's another reason for it this time.

For one of my courses this term, each student has to keep up a blog (minimum ten entries) on a news issue of their choice. It is permissible to use an existing blog, as long as there's some way of setting the class-related posts apart from the rest (hence the 'JN229' tag at the bottom). So that's why I'll be talking more about Canadian federal politics - and most likely the constantly-on-the-brink-of-an-election gamesmanship as opposed to anything, well, substantive.

Let's get to it.

We'll start off with the big story from Ottawa this past week - at least the big one that doesn't involve Aboriginals and body bags - Stephen Harper and his Conservative government being propped up by socialists and separatists, which is particularly amusing considering how that term first entered the political lexicon.

What surprises me the most about this? At least two parties (haven't heard it from the Bloc, but that doesn't mean they haven't said it) and the vast majority of political pundits have decreed that nobody wants an election. The same pundits will mention that while the NDP might lose some credibility for supporting the government when they were boasting up until very recently about how they'd never supported the Conservatives, but conclude that overall this is a positive step for Canada and for Canadians, seeing as, once again, Canadians don't want an election, thus anything that could avoid one must be a positive.

Yet these pundits will, in the same breath, as CBC's At Issue panel did this week, claim that Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals are the big winners in all of this. Why? Because now they can 'act like a real opposition' and vote against the government every chance they get.

So let me get this straight. Canadians don't want an election, and political parties should be doing everything they can to avoid one. Yet the big winners of the past week are the party which refuses to support the government on anything...which would, you know, cause an election?

I mean, I always knew that Canadian politics were weird. I just thought that, even in their weirdness, they made some sort of sense. Guess not.

Should be an interesting twelve weeks, anyhow.

--Ryan