Canada may have a federal election

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I have no objection whatsoever to a coalition.

The most likely scenario would, I think, be something like David Lewis' commitment to support the second Trudeau government for a determined period of years. This would leave the NDP with the freedom to maintain an independent policy position, while at the same time exerting influence on the budget priorities of the government of the day.

A formal coalition involving NDP membership in a Liberal dominated government would be less likely, since it involve some horsetrading about Ministries, and the certainty that it would involve a Liberal Prime Minister and a Liberal Minister of Finance. This would tie the NDP's policy freedom in a way that would be inimical to their long term interests as an independent party.

The Bloc will not join a formal coalition, but will continue to serve as Kingmakers, given the stranglehold that they have on roughly 15% of the seats in the House.

I definitely don't see a coalition as bullying. I think it makes a lot of sense myself. I think most of the NDP would rather see the Liberals in power than the Conservatives. A coalition government would tend to be Liberal dominated which is not ideal for the NDP, but it should quell the fears of the more centrist Liberals. In all probability the NDP and Liberals will together hold a majority, or at least a larger minority than the Conservatives. That to me shows that more Canadians would approve of a center-left government than of the Conservatives and does away with that irritating problem of the splitting of the left-wing vote (which allows the Conservatives to sneak up the middle).

I have no strong feelings either was with Ignatief. From what I understand he's a smart guy, which sounds good to me. And I'm too much of an intellectual myself to be scared off by that. Although Bob Rae would make a good leader of a coalition government, where he is a former NDP member himself.

Also, wasn't the Block planning on taking part in the coalition the last time around? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Minority government has saved Canada from some of the worst neoliberal anti-growth policies. They cannot be as nasty, mean and stingy when the government could fall at any moment. Canada owes a lot to that. The economy would be a lot smaller had majority governments ruled.

And may I point out that lots of countries use coalition governments. It's just in Canada that we see it as such a weird thing, probably because it's only fairly recently that enough parties have come along to almost guarantee minority governments. But Britain is using a coalition right now! It allowed the Conservatives to get into power, which would not be my personal preference, but it can obviously work in a country using the British Parliamentary system. Does anyone know if any other Commonwealth members have used coalition governments before?

The British coalition is a catastrophe. People were hoping for a minority government that would not carry out experimentation but instead they are now guinea pigs in a demented lab of doom.

I'm all for coalitions. It works well for the Scandinavian countries. To pervert-phrase Harper, "Canada wants in too."

Well, it looks like the Dippers are acting smart and targeting Edmonton (http://www.ndp.ca/press/layton-ready-to ... eakthrough) - or, as it's known in Alberta, "Redmonton".

Sometimes I get the feeling that Canada is an Alternate Universe.

It is the America of Other World.

ruveyn