Taking on the Calgary Grit
I really like Calgary Grit, I consider him one of the best bloggers out there. I have a tremendous respect for his ideas and opinions.That said I really have to take issue with him about fixed election dates.
Now, he and some others like the idea. I don’t or rather I don’t understand it. (I also understand it could be considered nasty linking him with them)
We actually have fixed election dates now.
When a parliament is sworn in there is a drop-dead date where the house has to be dissolved and go back to the people. This is a fixed election date. We have this endpoint already.
Under a parliamentary system there is no way of stopping a government from going back to the people.
The obvious case in minority governments but there are other times where a renewed mandate could be crucial.
Suppose there is an extremely polarizing issue that splits the governing party, like the Manitoba schools question, or conscription or Bomark missiles or any other of countless issues.
What if a PM dies or retires or is forced out for a good reason. The new leader can’t go back to the people to get their own mandate?
What government would not be able to cook up a reason to go to the polls early by manufacturing a crisis?
When there are so many exceptions to a policy as to make it useless and when the policy already exists anyways why make the change.
To really make it work means ultimately changing our parliamentary system of government, and that is a whole other debate. This kind of tinkering around the edges is just symbolic.
I understand why the Tories like it, as it is some sort of purely symbolic statement that means nothing. I mean really it does not change a thing; it just makes the Tories look like they are doing something when not.
To also be shamelessly partisan, as much as some Liberals feel anything American is bad, (and I try not to be one) some Conservatives think anything American is good.
I do not understand why someone like CG who I really respect is in favour of it.
I fail to see a single thing it adds to our (I believe) superior parliamentary system of government.
posted by Aristo @ 1:37 PM
2 Comments:
we already have fixed election, and the rest is well explained also....its just a game played by amateurs....
Fixed Election dates is most certainly a case of the Tories doing something symbolic that does nothing to make it look like they are doing something as you say, and I have even been told EXactly that by someone about this very issue. That at least they're doing stuff, and using that as an example.
We do have a fixed mandate, precisely! This talk makes it seem as if govts can rule forever.
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