Turns out last issue’s column on the right way to run a separation campaign struck a few nerves in Quebec. All jokes aside, the separatist PQ lost their government and handed the Liberals a majority. Even everyone’s favourite premier lost her seat.
Of course, news sources editorialized everything about it. My favourite line? “Separatism is dead.”
I’ve used this column before to discuss why separatism won’t die in our lifetime; my position hasn’t changed. It wasn’t dead the last time the Parti Quebecois lost either. It’s dormant, since the Liberals aren’t interested in separation.
What’s important to remember, though, is that politics are a fool’s game. As one commenter put it, the choice in Quebec was between thieves and idiots, and the Quebecois voted the thieves in again. That’s probably an exaggeration, but it highlights the nature of politics and the tendency to vote for the lesser of two evils.
Next door in Ontario, an election is looming. It’s between the incumbent Liberals, the “natural ruling” Progressive Conservatives (PCs), and the tried and not-so-true NDP.
The best part for the PCs is they can stand back and watch the other two duke it out. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne of making “pie in the sky” fiscal dreams and having no grasp of economics. The cynic in me wants to make a crack at the NDP for that, but I digress. Meanwhile, Tim Hudak of the PCs is loving it.
Ontario looks like it might follow Quebec’s footsteps and turn their election into an opposition shoe-in. The opposition that stands to gain from each situation is fighting against unsavoury reputations, but their only defence seems to be stepping back.
Meanwhile in BC, our electorate shocks pollsters with surprise left hooks from incumbents.
Keep your wacky politics, easterners. I prefer our two equally awful parties.