There's no doubt that the Conservatives are playing the politics game quite strongly right now. They seem to have a lot of strong cards in their hand right now. Hopefully most Canadians can see through all the smoke to the real issues. In my opinion the last election, the Conservatives were given a minority government only in order to punish the Liberals for their recent scandals. I dont think the country as a whole wants to hand over a majority to them this time around. I am still shocked that the Conservatives were able to establish such a foothold in Quebec last time around and stand to build on it... Quebec is always assumed to be socially progressive in direct contradiction to Harper's outlook. Of course he did a good job of trying to buy additional votes in that province through lavish spending there during the past term.
Harper is just getting too cocky and power hungry now... which most people have known was his true character all along. He's done a good job of coming across as moderate during the minority government, I think just as an act to instill confidence that he can be trusted with a majority. Scary times... hope we dont go down that road because I really dont think he reflects the attitudes of the country as a whole....
Its all in the name, just think about it... Conservative - lets conserve the ways of the past which benefitted mainly wealthy white men. We need progressive leadership and policies now! Maybe this is the chance for the Greens to make a big break through?
Odd, because every party plays politics, not just the Conservatives. Presently, the NDP is in battle not with the Conservative party, but with the Liberals. Layton realizes he will never be Prime Minister, but he can possibly be the leader of the opposition. His target is the Liberals, and the Conservatives will be happy to oblige him in that pursuit. For them, there is nothing like three weak parties to face off against when you've finally unified the conservative vote.
As for Canadians seeing through the Conservative smoke to see real issues, remember that a fair number of Canadians support the Conservative party as a definite choice. It's not like these people have been lead astray or are stupid. These voters have a Conservative outlook, and if they are to be convinced to vote otherwise, they will need something more than a suggestion that they are deluded.
As to the Conservatives getting into office solely because as a result of punishing the Liberals, that might explain some votes, but not all votes for them. Canada has had Conservative governments in the past, and now that the two former conservative parties have come together, there will be more Conservative governments possible now and into the future. This present government has polled close to majority territory on a few occasions. They have also lead a pretty uneventful government, something that can suggest stability to voters looking for such qualities. With respect to the idea of stability, it is the centre left that is fractured now.
As for Quebec, a funny place it is in terms of politics. But the appeal of the Conservatives has to do with the devolution of powers to the provinces, and the curtailment of federal powers. The Conservatives are viewed as the federal party that can offer that promise. That suits the soft nationalist sentiments quite well. Going beyond that, if one looks at health care as a barometer, Quebec has by far the most privatized quantity of health care in the country. It's not lilely that the Conservatives will bother them about it. The Liberals studiously avoided doing so. So I guess the word progressive is open to interpretation.
As for Harper being "power-hungry," every political leader can be characterized as such. It's an asset of sorts in politics. Because Harper is a conservative, and to a degree a social conservative, he is going to offer up policy positions that satisfy the social conservatives of the country. But I think he is going to meet them only half way. At this juncture he probably is realistic enough to understand that a centre position (or a position as close to centre as possible) is the one that most likely would be the least problematic with a large number of voters. This allows him to balance off his more conservative agenda with items more likely to be acceptable to a majority of the voters. It's not a bad strategy; it has worked for many right of centre parties - and left of centre parties as well.
Since the issue of race was addressed, it's worth pointing out that the appeal of the Conservative party is hardly restricted to white males with above average incomes. Such an assumption is a strategic error. I say this and the other things because, as a non-conservative, if you really want to change government you need more than just prejudices and presumptions on who the Conservative voters are, and why they vote the way they do. The Conservatives are in power. They have a chance of forming a majority in the next election. So rather than assuming errors in thinking on the part of their supporters, or invoking easy prejudices, it would make much more sense to actually generate new ideas and construct new policies that stand for and project the ideals of the centre (or left of centre), not as a means to answering the conservatives, but as a means of setting a course for the future that is different from the conservative ideals that may found to be disagreeable.
