That Elusive Election "Mood"

The mood was there, all right. Liberal leader Stephane Dion constantly felt moody about calling an election, and never quite got around to it, somewhat tarnishing himself in the process as the fella who called "Wolf!" a few too many times. The tendency to threaten to bring down the government appears to have been inherited, since the new leader, the inimitable Michael Ignatieff, who exercised his own brand of democracy by ascending to the throne sans run-off vote, also threatens to bring down the government.

Hauling vote-weary Canada into yet another election process that no one really wants. Not that the Liberal Party representing the Official Opposition should either, come to think of it. Particularly when some poll statistics appear to indicate a state of voter ennui, and worse, static and sinking support for that party. Seems that the public does have a memory, after all. And even if that were not so, it appears that Mr. Ignatieff has somehow failed to ignite voter enthusiasm, perhaps due to his tepid performance to date.

Liberals are nervously taking the pulse of the nation, and at the moment it is barely pulsating. It's not necessarily the fairly crude Conservative campaign to remind voters incessantly of the largely absent-Canadian-quotient in Mr. Ignatieff's curriculum vitae but perhaps more the fact that Mr. Ignatieff has failed to inspire Canadians and to enlist their trust in him other than as one ambitious to assume legislative power he has not earned.

Guess he figures if he could ascend the Liberal throne, the national one might prove as ready to succumb to his reputedly formidable reputation.

Which still has failed to resonate with Canadians. And while the Liberals deplore the ongoing 'just visiting' campaign launched against their leader by the Conservatives, they haven't been shy at portraying the current government as ineffectual, failing to act in the best interests of the country, a country which has no great love for the Conservatives. Michael Ignatieff scorns the Conservatives as having led the country into dire economic straits. Which makes a whole lot of sense, doesn't it, considering the global downturn.

Considering, above all, the relative health of the Canadian economy as compared to other members of the G-8 community, let alone the world at large. Canada, in fact, has been feted, time and again, for its steady-as-she-goes financial institutions which managed to inure the country from the worst depredations of the international financial collapse, despite Mr. Ignatieff claiming that the country performed among the worst of the G-8.

How the Liberals under their new leader propose to improve on the performance of the current government is anyone's guess, mostly because they haven't defined any kind of platform or direction they might take, different than the Conservatives. Mr. Ignatieff's injured claims that the Conservatives aren't co-operating on issues like EI reform are ingenuous at best, absurd as his claims are, considering that he blames the government for over-spending, but insists it must continue over-spending.

In reality, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has performed commendably, in every area of governance, to date. Mind, there have been the odd slip-ups when he's been too partisan, too combative, too prepared to throw away his advantages, but he's paid dearly for those lapses. In the meantime, he's the best prospect Canada appears to have for the near future, despite those waiting in the wings, eager to unseat him and to take control of the country's fortunes.