Yes, it's been a year or so. Who would have thought we would still be in this silly stalemate after all this time. Even ignoring all the sleaze and blatant disregard for law and the rules of parliament, this situation is strange.
It is one borne out of weak, uninspiring leaders, an unmotivated, cynical populace, blind loyalty and an ideological perception of entitlement. Without all those pieces, we wouldn't be in this situation.
The sad thing is that if we could just break ANY of those things, the stalemate would dissolve and we could move forward - potentially with positive change. But sadly we seem to be unable to do so. An election call would precipitate change, but cannot happen because everyone is sitting in a little safe spot, afraid to move for fear they will lose their perceived control.
For the ideologues who prance around flouting the rules of parliament, forging and altering documents, abusing their positions and resorting to petty, insulting personal attacks on anyone questioning their ineptitude, the concern is that the call of an election only bangs them up against the glass ceiling on their popular support. They know that the majority is (thankfully) still out of reach.
For the weak opposition leaders, they are poorly supported within their own ranks, and KNOW that a failed election would be the catalyst to clear them out (and likely) then install the 2nd choice among weak candidates. In the meantime, a year or so passes.
For the populace - my fellow Canadians - we get the worst possible outcome. Some of us blindly support anything right wing, mainly because they've drunk the US media kool-aid which resonates with them, in the simplicity that all the complexities of the world are easily pigeon-holed into 'right' and 'left' and as long as you blindly support the former, the latter can some day be eradicated.
And "blindly" is the operative word there.
The vast majority of my compatriots sadly take another approach. Go through your daily lives, ignoring the world around you. Show no interest in anything, learn nothing about what makes your country the way it is, and for goodness sake, never vote in an election.
Ladies, I harbour particular finger-waving for those of you who shirk your duties as a citizen. There are probably people alive in your family who can remember not being allowed to vote. Certainly there are some who can remember not being able to borrow money without their husband's approval, or hold a job other than teacher, nurse or food-server without a very thick skin and superhuman perseverance. You are currently ruled by a political cadre that includes barely 20% female representation. Why do you stand for that?
I would gladly see the women of the country demand that once, even if for this next (whenever it comes) election only, you will NOT vote for anyone who isn't female. Try it. Just once. Make a change. Then maybe we will see some strong women and can leave behind the likes of Ambrose, Guergis and Oda for some intelligent, thoughtful leaders, rather than ones who will fill chairs and keep their mouths shut.
Where We Are Headed
So how will change happen? A budget is approaching, but the NDP are well placed to sell their support for influence on the budget contents, and the CPC know this and will give them juicy tidbits and let them claim ownership.
The Liberals hesitate to spark a non-confidence vote, likely because they can't count on NDP support while the aforementioned carrot remains of interest.
The CPC probably should, strategically, make it happen themselves for fear the press finds a spin on all the back-to-back sleaze stories, and it begin to stick with their blind-support base. But truly, they want nothing more than to keep the opposition weak, and know an election could cause change in that regard.
Thus we continue to go around.
There is a two week period leading into the next budget process, and a lot can happen in that period. And so we wait. This time, however, I suspect it will not be a year before something happens in this area. One can only hope, because right now change is probably the best thing we can get out of this.
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