Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
The fact that there are four viable parties in federal politics.
If not for the PC-Reform split, it's quite possible that we would have been in minority positions at times since 1997.
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You think so? I'm surprised.
My take on it is that the Conservatives have thus far done a solid job with their minority governments, and are the only party that has its house in sufficient order to govern at the moment. I think a statistical majority of Canadians would agree with me on this.
But for some reason, despite this, they can't get a majority mandate. Why is that? I think it's because lots of Canadians like the Conservatives, but only if they have a minority. They simply don't trust them with power. Whether there is good reason not to trust them is an open question, but their proposal to slash political funding provided at least some evidence that they are not to be trusted. So, those Canadians who like them but don't trust them will likely vote strategically next time around.
I suppose part of the difference between us is that I only see 2 viable parties because I define the term "viable" to mean "capable of forming the government" as opposed to "capable of participating effectively in government."