The Canadian Election: Lost in translation

The Canadian Election has finally reached its final weekend (Tuesday vote) with all the usual campaign he said/she said stops along the way to polling day and strangely featuring an episode of duelling plagiarists, one which drew our very own former PM John Howard into the campaign.

As expected the early Conservative lead in the polls has narrowed, to the point where the Liberals may be in a position to pull off a surprise win; or it’s gonna be a Groundhog Day minority Govt all over again.

As it currently stands the Conservatives sit in the lead just outside of the MoE on 32, Liberals 27, NDP 19, Greens 12 and Bloc Quebecois 8.

There were round table debates in French and English, which included all of the Party Leaders (Greens included, yay!) and with the second (English) held on the same night as some other debate event south of the border involving a guy with hair plugs and some chick from Alaska, to say it was overshadowed was an understatement, but such is life in Canada.

Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt – Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

As it turns out my brother Nick had the TV on that night and was channel hopping and felt compelled to share his POV on the evenings events with me.

So the second televised debates of our five national parties (the Greens were finally invited to join) aired the same night as the Biden/Palen “debate”. I could only watch about 15 minutes of the latter and just had to turn, Palin nauseates me so with her “folksiness” and I actually felt shamed for Biden having to come down after 25 years in the Senate to actually debating this Alaskan Hockey Mom and Mayor.

The Canadian debate was on a much higher level and thoroughly enjoyable to watch Harper squirm and glare at the other four party leaders taking simultaneous attacks at him. Elizabeth May of the Greens was particularly enjoyable. She’s a single mother and took the train across Canada rather than flying to speak to her supporters. She was NOT afraid of Harper. Had all her data, facts etc. ready. When Harper defended the Tory environmental plan she said, “the new national parks – great! The rest is a fraud!”

Harper has been appearing on TV ads sporting a sweater instead of the usual suit in an attempt to make less of the ice man that he is so at one point Jack Layton (NDP) asked him “Where’s your plan? Under the sweater??!” Anyway, Dion still comes across as scared and Layton and May performed the best.

I was shocked to read in the morning free daily that “Harper held his own and did well” – say what???!!! Numerous friends of mine were all shocked at that wondering what the hell we missed. He was clearly on the defensive and only spouted truism’s – what facts he managed to use were quickly destroyed by the other leaders.

Anyway, polls are showing that Harper could still have a minority government. Fingers crossed on that although just booting his neo-con keester out would be better.

But what does he know, like me he’s one of those 416 area code inner city latte sipping chardy drinking elites and would say that, the New Democrats or Greens will get his vote – it’s the RoC that matters in this election.

But you can tell things aren’t looking so rosy for the once cruising Conservatives, with the party now asking Canadians to imagine Canada led by a Prime Minister Dion. As political tactics goes this one sounds pretty desperate. The Conservative internal polling must be shocking.

Yes, desperation leads to panic, which leads to silliness and not thinking things through to the end and so it is with the latest gaffe by the Conservatives in their efforts to paint Dion as unfit to lead.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper emerged shortly after a broadcast interview aired showing Liberal leader Stéphane Dion struggling in English to grasp a simple economic question, suggesting his answers showed he was unfit to lead the country.

Harper moved quickly to exploit what the Conservatives said is a damning, embarrassing piece of tape, in which Dion asked for three takes to answer what he would have done about the economy if he were prime minister now.

But things are never so simple are they?

But spare some empathy for Mr. Dion. It’s the end of a grueling campaign, the man has admitted to a hearing impairment and the question was open to interpretation while being phrased in Mr. Dion’s second language.

The bigger question is how the Conservative response fits with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s efforts to tame his hard-nosed cold-hearted image with sweaters and baby hugs.

And.

Your leader’s biggest problem is that voters find him unsympathetic. You’ve gone out of your way to cast him as warm and fuzzy, the apparent failure of which has seen your lead erode in the campaign’s final week. And as your primary opponent suffers an embarrassing moment owing to a poor grasp of English and possibly a hearing impairment, you put that leader in front of a camera to make fun of him?

As they say, oops!

Elsewhere the Poll Bludger has an open discussion thread on the Canadian Election.