FELDSTED -- The choices are difficult and made worse by ‘attack ads’ where one party or group attacks one of the other leaders and suggests, without evidence, that he will do great harm

As we move closer to election day, beware the backups 

Shachi Kurl ~~ Ottawa Citizen ~~ June 7, 2019

OK, can we talk about backups? Everyone’s got them: your backup vacation home checker, in case your first choice has a record of drowning house plants. Your backup babysitter when brother-in-law wants a night off. Your backup dogwalker when Fido has trust issues with the designated primary. Your backup date to that wedding at the cottage later this summer, just in case your current, nascent romance doesn’t quite last that long.

In an online, app-based world when our relational and consumer choices are endless and never quite locked in, to be a backup is an important position. In party politics, it could be everything.

It was indeed everything to Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals in the summer of 2015. The leader who began the campaign season in third place slowly, winsomely crept to power as the backup ...

CLICK HERE to read the full story:

In almost six decades of following federal politics, I have never witnessed a more volatile election that that scheduled for October.

Canadians have lost faith and trust in political parties and politicians. The bright promises Justin Trudeau and the Liberals made in 2015 have turned into scandal ridden incompetence. Political cronyism we always suspected has taken front stage. Slapstick foreign policy and visits to other nations have been embarrassing.

Opposition party fixation on scandal has not helped. We are left to wonder who is taking care of business, carrying out the duties of our federal government, ensuring that spending and taxation is necessary and prudent. The silence is deafening.

We face an election trying to decide what party and leader will do the least damage and possibly some good over the next four years.

The choices are difficult and made worse by ‘attack ads’ where one party or group attacks one of the other leaders and suggests, without evidence, that he will do great harm if elected. All parties are making promised to provide us with better governance.

We have heard it all before.

So far ... no party has put forth a credible plan for building a better future that includes providing basic services the federal government is responsible for, growing our economy, curbing unneeded spending, reducing our tax burden and providing people and families with more choices.

So far ... not party has offered to remove constraints from MPs campaigning under their banner and allow for full and free debates in parliament and free votes on legislation under consideration. The infringement on the freedoms of association, belief, conscience, speech and thought cannot be condoned. The voices of MPs and the people they represent are muzzled. 

  

There is a lot of political advertising and rhetoric to come our way this summer and fall. Appeals to our emotions will commence in September. Political parties have never had to fight so hard to get our attention in an electronic era competing with advertisers who will use any ploy to grab our attention.

This election has a high probability of a minority government. Many people will ‘park’ their votes with parties they consider the least likely to make matters worse.

How that wrings out remains to be seen, but traditional appeals by political parties are unlikely to succeed as well as they have in the past. Our problem in selecting who to support will result is unanticipated surprises.   

John Feldsted

Political Consultant & Strategist

Winnipeg, Manitoba