The latest news just came in: the Liberal party and the NDP have reached a deal to form a coalition government in order to topple the Conservative Party’s current rule.
There are a number of reasons why I think this would be a bad thing for our nation. For one, the Liberal party is still divided and weak. Their interim leader (Dion) is weak. We saw that in the elections. For them to rule our nation, at this stage, when it needs political consistency would weaken our abiliy to implement effective policy.
Secondly, the Liberals approve of a stimulus package. Basically, to follow in the footsteps of the Americans. The American government is well known for making knee-jerk fiscal packages, which can actually do more harm than good. We can already see the cracks in the American implementation of the stimulus, so why follow in their footsteps? It will not hurt to at least wait and spend wisely, rather than be brash and just have those funds wither away into nothingness.
Thirdly, I’m opposed to the Liberals taking power because just over a month ago Canada voted, and they wanted them there even less than in 2006. Those voters shouldn’t be so easily discounted. If at least six months had passed, I could agree. But a month?
Fourthly, Harper hasn’t been a bad leader. He speaks well. He does well in multinational talks. The scandals have been few and far between, and quite minor. Politically, he’s also been pretty centrist, to win support from the left as well as the right. We’ve seen his compromises all throughout his first mandate. I think he’s been one of the best PMs this nation’s ever had.
Lastly, I don’t want the Liberals in because they’ve moved too far to the left. They were centrist under Chretien and Martin. But in an effort to distance themselves from the current Tories, they’ve moved left. When you go too far either left or right, you enter the realm of adventurous and potentially catastrophic policies. The Republican party in the states is an example of too far to the right. It’s bad all around.