God Save the King
It's been more than a week and I'm only now able to write about it. I was so upset about the whole thing the night of the election that I actually got drunk on soju -- which is a pretty big deal when you consider that I really don't drink. This is what the progressives in Canada have been fearing for years: a majority Harper government.
Those of you who have read my previous few posts on parliamentary democracy will probably note that strictly speaking this is a Conservative majority and not a Harper one, but lets be honest here: this has always been about Harper and his lust for power. He runs his party like a monarchy, and even under a minority government, his attitude was routinely autocratic. He has made it his mission to kill parliamentary governance for a very long time and now we've given him the keys.
Good job Canada.
I'm speaking of course to the 39% of voters who actually think this was a good idea. My only hope is that now that he has Absolute Power for at least 4 years, the people who "voted for Harper" will start to actually blame him for what goes wrong, rather than find a way to pin it on "the coalition", or some other boogeyman.
Yes, the NDP is finally getting the support it deserves, and yes we finally have an elected Green MP, this is all good news. But in a majority government, run by an autocrat like Harper, I have little faith in anyone being able to get anything done unless it be his will.
Honestly, I fear for Canada's institutions, the things that make us great: Universal Health Care, The CBC, Peacekeeping, even the Charter. Most laws that can be written can also be undone, abolished under one government and restored by another, but institutions like these have taken nearly a century to build, and Harper has been clear about what he'd like to do to them. I'm honestly afraid for the future of my country, and I will hold each and every one of that 39%, as well as those who didn't even bother to show up accountable for whatever he does.
