Recent polls have indicated that the Harper Conservatives are edging into majority government territory. That in itself is not significant; polls can change and there is no guarantee that the Conservative Party of Canada will win the next election let alone form a majority government. What is important is that when a Conservative majority government appeared to be a real possibility, life, such as it is in ho-hum Canada, remained the same.
There was absolutely no panic at the thought of "Scary Stephen" heading a majority government and turning the country into a Republican Party wasteland. No one took to the streets to protest the danger of Canada being headed by a George Bush clone.
In fact it seems that the moniker "Scary Stephen" has been relegated to the dustbin of history, right alongside that of Canada's "New Government". The Harper-as-Bush argument for returning the Liberals to power really hasn't worked since the 2004 election, although the hapless Liberals are still using it in an attempt to rise above the level that the party is at under the fumbling leadership of Stephane Dion.
Although those who seek elected office claim to do so for the public good and to make Canada a better place, electoral politics is really just a game. What separates watching Parliament and the provincial legislatures from watching the Super Bowl or a Stanley Cup playoff game is that watching MPs, MPPs or MLAs is usually so boring. But on occasion the "game" is so well played that the income tax could be eliminated if the politicos only could find a way to charge admission for watching them in action.
It's hard to remember a more exciting (if that word can be used) time as the present where Stephen Harper has Dion and the once mighty Liberals on the ropes. Harper opposes the main planks of the Liberal Party--setting a definite date for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, meeting Canada's Kyoto targets and coddling criminals. The Liberals are now squirming to both oppose the minority government and keep it from falling lest the country be plunged into an election that the Dion Liberals have very little chance of winning.
The Liberal amendment to the Throne Speech that was voted on last night was a perfect example of the situation that the Liberal Party finds itself in. Their amendment called for the Conservatives to meet the now impossible Kyoto targets. But the Libs also threw in the statement that the Liberal Party had met Canada's Kyoto targets when they were in power. This was inserted into the amendment to ensure that the NDP and the Bloc would vote against it (which they did) so that the government would not be defeated in non-confidence motion. For those who are interested in these matters, the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals couldn't get any better.
Another example of how the government has the Liberals on the run is in one of the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code. That amendment provides that if a person is convicted of a third violent offence, he or she is automatically designated as a dangerous offender, liable to an indefinite period of incarceration unless they can convince a judge that they are not dangerous. The Liberals have consistently portrayed this as the same as the American three strikes law that could see someone locked up for life for stealing a slice of pizza. Of course it's nothing like that and now the desperate Liberals are backtracking on their opposition to that amendment.
It is too early to tell whether or not Stephen Harper has crossed the Rubicon; in effect ending the long run that the Liberals have had as Canada's Natural Governing Party. But the lack of concern by the public at the thought that the Conservatives may form a majority government after the next election makes this a distinct possibility.
The reality is Stephen Harper is not really "scary", he never was--he's just another politician. If he manages to win a majority, he'll do what he has to do in order to win a second one. And when and if that happens, the Liberal Party's reign as the Natural Governing Party may very well be at an end.
