Thursday, September 10, 2009

Some Thoughts on Elections

On the one hand...

1. When Ignatieff doesn't support the government, he's accused of forcing an election - causing support for the Liberals to drop a few points.

2. New leaders historically need a couple of years to get up to speed, even when they're more experienced than Ignatieff.

3. Our last election was less than a year ago, and we have had a lot of elections in the last few years.

On the other hand...

1b. When Ignatieff doesn't force an election, he is accused of "propping up Harper." There are lots of good arguments that can be made to the public for why an election is needed. Like these. We just need to sell it better.

2b. Ignatieff has been leader of the party for eight months now, and he's settling in pretty well.

3b. Under Harper, a minority government is bound to be unstable. Plus, he will call an election as soon as is politically advantageous for him - he's still working flat-out to get a majority.

The path to electoral success seems to hinge on taking control: in terms of setting the election date to an opportune time for us; in terms of being seen to be in control; and in terms of better framing the issues.

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1 comment:

A Eliz. said...

If things are not bad enough , the people of Canada are gullible, the media is gullible, and The GG is gullible, because she was a journalist....that is all we need