What Lies Ahead

Final thoughts on this week of intrigue and maneuvering... Though I favored an election, it does please me that the substantive elements of the budget will pass and that the issue of same-sex marriage might finally be put to bed [though I fear the Liberals will stall its final implementation for political purposes].

The silver linings for the CPC in the aftermath of this close vote are also obvious (and well elaborated upon by Scharma) - it will be interesting to note the depth of the introspection over the summer. The battlelines continue to be drawn, however: Bloc-Harper v. Harper Liberals. No reader of this blog should be surprised on which side of the line its three contributors fall, but Harper does have some decisions to make [with solid arguments for both his staying and leaving].

So time to move on indeed. Though permit one last nostalgic look back at another in the list of my unjustifiable "favorites" - favorite individual political column of all time: Rex Murphy's eulogy of Pierre Trudeau in the Globe and Mail, September 30, 2000.

Say what you will of old Pierre, but he and his contemporaries certainly compare rather favorably against the current lot. Consider:

"Pierre Trudeau's second [greatest contribution]... was that he didn't come empty, or fitted only with the wish to be there, to the task of leadership. His entry into politics wasn't happenstance or the exercise of mere ambition. He had appraised the country whose leadership he would assume, recognized its stengths and weaknesses, and constructed a response to enhance the former and diminish the latter. We were then encountering a politician who not only could think but whom many of his most enthusiastic followers almost identified with reason itself."

Alas. Of course, some Liberals will continue to see this Prime Minister as a bold thinker, principled politician, and great leader. I, obviously, do not. Further argument is frankly pointless. The clarion calls for reform only ring louder for me on this Friday afternoon. The fact that Paul Martin thinks lightweight Belinda Stronach is the person to lead them only confirms my negative opinion of his capacity, and the seriousness with which he wants to tackle our nation's democratic shortcomings. It would also make me laugh, if it wasn't so depressing.

So it should be interesting to see where this all leads me upon my return to Canada in less than 2 months. The Toronto Star today fronts a headline today entitled "Prime Minister Layton?", but absent serious maturity, the idea of an NDP Government IS still science fiction. And the Greens remain a work in progress and protest vote that these Liberals have become masters at ignoring. So again, where does this leave those seeking this change then? McNair suggests helping reform the CPC from within... As an old friend of mine is fond of saying, in an infinite variety of contexts: "Don't make me."