FELDSTED -- From May until mid-August, parties engage in a madhouse of polling and toss up innumerable trial balloons in an effort to gauge the public mood
When legislation providing for fixed federal election dates was introduced in 2007, most people breathed a sigh of relief. The ‘snap election’ dragon had been vanquished. Those of us who had been active in politics for decades were less jubilant. A minority government is still subject to defeat on a non-confidence motion. A democratic vote in parliament can still trigger a mid-term election and reset the fixed election date clock. A fixed date election removed some uncertainty but also moved forward preparations for the next election. Whereas pre-writ political activity was usually short under the old system, that was no longer the case. Political parties begin preparations in May of an election year knowing the writ would be issued in early to mid-September for an October election. From May until mid-August, parties engage in a madhouse of polling and toss up innumerable tria...