Thursday, October 09, 2008

On strategic manipulations

Come to think of it, I have to wonder whether the Green candidate's withdrawal in Longueuil-Pierre-Boucher has anything to do with the party's belated rush for filler candidates.

After all, the Greens would have had awfully little chance to vet whether or not people responding to their last-minute e-mail call for candidates might have had other party affiliations. And if the Libs were counting on a late-campaign strategic voting pitch from Elizabeth May in any event, what better way to bolster that message than by having some of their own supporters take on paper candidacies to give the impression that genuine Green candidates were switching sides?

Now, we don't know for sure if that's what happened in this case. But there's every reason to be extremely wary of any Green candidates - particularly late-nominated ones - throwing their support to the Libs.

Update: CBC reports that Moreau is a self-professed Green member since 1993. But it's worth noting that there's still some reason for skepticism considering how the Libs are playing fast and loose with reality in their other endorsement announcement today.

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