Yawn

This election hasn't been very interesting so far. The media are obsessed with "gaffes" and "campaign strategies"; party leaders promise chocolate éclairs for all, trying to exude Leadership Potential; and rank-and-file candidates (let alone party members) are invisible unless they do something stupid. Only the Green Party has released a platform so far, and the consensus in the media is that platforms are all hot air anyway, so they focus on the theatrics instead. I wish we could sit down like grownups and discuss what problems we are facing and how to solve them.

I haven't seen much coverage of the Greens since Elizabeth May got accepted to the debates. CBC mentioned approvingly that she is financially prudent and that she is slowly gaining in the polls. Private media are openly dismissive of Jack Layton and Elizabeth May because they won't be Prime Minister.

This is interesting. A man from Hamilton has set up a Facebook page to co-ordinate vote-swapping to help defeat the Conservatives. Last time I checked there were 6500 swappers out of 10 million voters, so it probably won't have a big impact. Considering the distortions* of our electoral system, though, it's worth a try.


*Our "first past the post" system has several flaws. First, it discourages new parties because until they have 20% or so support in a given riding, all votes for them are wasted (except for vote-based federal funding). Second, it exacerbates regional divisions because it benefits regional parties, which have concentrated voters. Third, it punishes similar parties or candidates through vote splitting. The final result is that a party can form government with 30-40% of the vote, while a party with 10-20% support (like the Progressive Conservatives in the 90's or the Greens now) get little or no seats.