Only 7 more days of coverage
The election is coming up, next week. I am occasionally reading what people have to say, following sporadically the percentages, but mostly ignoring everything. Because, as usual, I want something that mostly requires many, many people to want what I want, and to vote strategically. I sometimes think everyone in this country votes strategically. I am not always sure this is a bad thing.
Montreal has been long neglected, because the PLQ considers it safe, and the PQ considers it pointless. Now suddenly, we have a third candidate, possibly an electable one. If votes from safe ridings — not D’Arcy-McGee safe, but more middle safe — start going away, perhaps the government will be more liable to quit ignoring the city. They can’t ignore it much more, so I don’t think there’s a lot to lose. (I have given up on hoping that the ridings are more or less equal in population, since that will never, ever happen.) In general, I want a minority government, because neither a PQ nor a PLQ majority seems like a good idea at this time.
The candidates are flailing. Boisclair is making stupid comments, and instead of apologising and moving on, he keeps insisting it wasn’t a stupid comment at all. You don’t get to decide what other people find offensive, especially if other people have historically been discriminated against. Even if you think it’s not offensive, your opinion is meaningless. But his actions remind me a lot of Tremblay, and is worrisome: politicians who don’t know how to strategically backtrack make a lot of stupid hubris-related mistakes. The candidate in my riding thinks that there was no genocide in Rwanda, just a lot of people killing each other. I don’t even know how many candidates have been outwardly xenophobic. Reading all of this depresses me too much.
There aren’t many parties to vote for. I won’t vote for a separatist party, so that’s a no on PQ and Quebec Solidaire (I am not sure what else they stand for, but a friend has suggested they are too left wing for even the left wingiest). I am unimpressed with the PLQ and don’t think they deserve my vote. (Amusingly, there are arguments that my candidate has used cocaine and thus is not a good candidate.) The ADQ is too right wing for me. There are a bunch of Christian parties, but I am not Christian and am creeped out by them. I don’t want to vote Marxist-Leninist. So I will vote Green, because who else is left?
I predict a minority government with PLQ in power — Boisclair made another mistake when he swore he would hold a referendum (”public consultation”) even if it were a minority government. Plus, I think he doesn’t play well in the rural areas.
March 19th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Boisclair has crashed and burned in a rather spectacular manner. Charest is really in a position to ride this out with a victory simply by virtue of being the least scary candidate.
I am tempted by QS - a strongly feminist party is appealing enough to not be off-putting in their separatist leanings. ADQ is creepy, but they are doing a decent job of excluding themselves from the race, one stupid comment at a time.
*sigh* Elections are depressing.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I like some of their ideas, but generally they seem long on ideas and short on “here’s how we would actually do it”, or even numbers to show it’s possible. What do they mean by “some form of proportional representation”? Plus, of course, the separatism. But generally, they’re too light on details for a serious party. The Greens are light on details, but they’re not serious in the same way.
I’m surprised at how the ADQ is losing its support. And upset — I don’t care what kind of creepy they are, we need to have more than the two parties we have.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:33 am
It’s hardly a new phenomenon for the ADQ to deflate at the last minute. I thought they hadn’t got around to deflating just yet, though.
The Green candidate in my riding has actually held elected office. Not that he’s going to be elected under this banner. I’m planning to vote for him.
Looks like proportional representation is stalling again in Quebec, but it’s got to happen one of these years…
March 20th, 2007 at 7:27 am
The ADQ has never been this effective a party, though. I don’t think they’ll deflate to zero, I just hope they continue to hold on to 20 or so seats, forcing a minority government.