Dear Editor;
For the last three federal elections the Liberals have been a rudderless ship. They have had leadership problems; internal fighting, scandals and have even missed the boat on the issues. Yet, Stephen Harper has been able to do no better than a minority government. I think we could call that a clue. Mr. Harper has had a majority government within his grasp each and every time, but he cannot close the deal.
At no time will the Conservatives ever have the chance to seize power as they did this last election. The party spent millions in the province of Quebec. Polls showed the Bloc was pretty much toast and the Nationalist Party of Quebec was on the ropes. Mr. Harper single-handedly managed to revive the separation debate with a single sentence: “Canadians don’t care about culture.”
So, like where has he been for the last 40 years? This a man from Alberta where we have been complaining about the lack of recognition our distinct western culture receives for decades.
Because of Stephen Harper, we again have separation debates in both the east and the west. We have a minority government and we have more discord than we have seen in years. It is obvious that Stephen Harper does not have anything in common with most of us in this country, including those of us lucky enough to live in Alberta.
Long before he screwed up in Quebec he had managed to make enemies out of a very conservative Newfoundland by telling them he didn’t need Newfoundland for his majority. He was right of course, but he would have been about three seats away from his majority with only a little tact.
Being a leader of a country requires more than being an anti-Liberal. It requires someone with a national vision. It requires someone who isn’t angry all the time. It requires someone who may be right wing but not George Bush right wing. Most of all, it requires someone who recognizes that Canada is the sum of many cultures, lifestyles and basic needs.
There is no doubt the Liberal Party of Canada needed a timeout. It may well be time to trust another party with a majority. But it likely isn’t going to happen with the man they have at the helm and surely there is a better leader somewhere in that party.
Perhaps Mr. Harper should switch to provincial politics. We have only had the same government here for 38 years. He’d be a shoe in.
Ian McLean
Rimbey