Posted on 01/22/2006 8:02:58 PM PST by FairOpinion
An unashamedly Right-wing politician is poised to shatter decades of middle-ground consensus in Canada's general election today.
The emergence of Conservative leader Stephen Harper has panicked opponents and cheered those demanding a radical change of direction for a country they describe as vanquished by the adherents of political correctness.
Paul Martin, the prime minister, warned of a shift to the far Right Paul Martin, the Liberal prime minister, has whipped up voters' fears in the final days of campaigning, claiming that Mr Harper would overturn the newly-enshrined right of homosexual marriage and cosy up to President George W Bush, who most Canadians dislike.
He even claimed that the Tories would attack abortion rights, which the party denies.
"We have a party that wants to take this country to the far, far Right of the US conservative movement," Mr Martin warned.
But despite days of such allegations, opinion polls showed the Conservatives steady at about 10 per cent ahead of the Liberals.
Such a result would mark the first Conservative victory for almost 20 years, although it might not be enough to deliver a majority in the 308-member House of Commons.
The Conservative campaign has been marked by a moderate election programme based on tax cuts, a crackdown on crime, increased defence spending and devolution of power to the provinces.
Mr Harper, 46, an economist, has been very careful not to threaten too much change. But most who have watched him during 20 years in politics say he is far from the typical Canadian consensus-seeking mould that has typified leaders of both Left and Right for decades.
According to his biographer, William Johnson, the country has never had a leader like him in the 139 years since Britain handed over power.
The biography, Stephen Harper and the future of Canada, describes him as a brilliant conviction politician who admired the no-nonsense styles of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
An introverted policy wonk, he distrusts the Canadian political elite and has a taste for necessary but unpopular policies. Many Canadians, including some on his own side, say this mix will make the sparks fly if he becomes prime minister.
Unlike almost all recent Canadian premiers, he did not originate in the Francophone heartland of Quebec.
A fluent French-speaker who has promised to leave Quebec's controversial language laws alone, he is unashamedly English by culture, temperament and origin.
In the run-up to war in Iraq, Mr Harper gave voice to the minority who were uneasy that Canada's old allies in America, Britain and Australia were about to engage in a conflict without Canadian units at their side.
On the day war broke out, he berated Canada's Liberal government for its "insecure anti-Americanism".
He no longer insists on sending troops to Iraq but few doubt that when he spoke to the House of Commons that day, MPs saw into the heart of the real Stephen Harper.
The elections are tomorrow.
I read the elections are Monday, Jan. 23, tomorrow.
All you need to read is this line. That Paul Martin is a moderate-middle-grounder is the same pap the Old Media spins here about HRC.
"..decades of middle-ground consensus .."
Yeah, my butt cheeks!
Thanks for the great picture of the two of the greatest leaders of our time. (The other ones are Bush, Blair, Howard)
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Ten bucks to FR says he doesn't.
It's worth noting that there is nothing "right-wing" about Canada's Tories. Anyone who expects major changes in Canada after this election is going to be sorely disappointed.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Ping.
"Tories Win: Minorities and Women Suffer Most (as usual)"
That sounds eerily like some of the Anti-American kooks we have up here.
I think this shows that all we have been hearing coming out of Canada has been filtered by their liberal media. If the polling is correct there are a lot of conservatives in Canada and they just they have not had a voice. This is the first election in a long time that conservatives have been united against the left in Canada. This is very similar to the Reagan election in 1980. The only place the left seems to be gaining ground is in South America and that will change because leftist policies always leads to greater pain eventually.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
The conservatives in Canada won't even overcome 30 years of "Trudeaupia" in 500 years. Just look at the damn poll numbers to get a clear indication of just how bleak the future of Canada is . . . you've got a Conservative Party that is pulling -- at its absolute best, in the midst of unprecedented scandal in the Liberal government -- no more than 40% of the vote nationwide. And this is against three other major parties that basically represent varying degrees of Marxism. And one of those parties -- which is the one the conservatives will have to rely on to form a coalition government -- doesn't even believe in a unified Canada at all.
Right-winger set to smash the mould in Canada>>
No. the VOTERS are set to smash the mold.
I hope it doesn't end up like German's election.
I hope the Canadian Conservative Party win an outright majority
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