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 ...
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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
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