I'd have serious reservations about what would likely result if he were to get his wish (and would encourage the Libs' less corporatist members to keep in mind how the party prioritized budget-slashing and tax-cutting over nation-building last time it had the chance). But I won't join those criticizing Michael Ignatieff for suggesting that he's aiming for a Lib majority government in the next election as his primary goal. Indeed, one of the easiest mistakes to make in discussing politics is to ascribe too much permanence to a status quo that can change significantly without warning - and the minority-government games of the past few years have likely made that tendency even worse.
That said, though, it's worth pointing out the implications of Ignatieff's statement and its underlying assumptions as applied to other parties as well.
After all, if it's not implausible for the Libs to boost their electoral fortunes by the double-digit vote share and nearly 80 seats required to get them into majority territory, then it can hardly be out of the question for another opposition party to improve its standing by the same amount. Which raises not just the possibility of the NDP closing the relatively narrow gap with the Libs, but also the prospect of an NDP government as an outcome close enough to reality to be worth publicly discussing and striving for.
(Edit: fixed typos.)
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