New, Raw Talent
The new NDP Parliamentarians are doubtless still pinching themselves with disbelief. It is hard to believe, actually. That warm bodies and names allied with a political party meant to appear as a presence, with no thought within the party itself, much less those who agreed to lend their names as place-warmers actually rode a wave of voter discontent into Parliament does boggle the mind.
What it means is that those who did the voting cared not one whit who they were voting for, as long as the name and the party represented someone other than who they meant not to vote for, while still discharging their obligation, and sending a message of discontent at the same time. The NDP did, after all, promise Quebecois that it knew their pain and would address it.
So here they are, the NDP with more Members of Parliament in this newly elected government, sitting as the Official Opposition, than they ever dreamed possible. They're so astonished their feet have barely touched terra firma since election night. Smilin' Jack is so exuberant about the outcome for the NDP he may never frown again.
He's set to hold the Conservative government to account, to prod and to complain, to insist and to thwart ... oh wait, he can't do that any more. He can still complain and he can still insist, but he can no longer prod and thwart. It's a majority government. So what has he and his party gained other than higher visibility? And the opportunity, given the usual cant of the NDP to become truly irksome in the House?
The Budget that helped to bring down the 40th Parliament held a whole lot of goodies for the electorate, in an attempt to persuade the NDP to play along with the Conservatives, but it didn't work. No reason now why those courtesies to the NDP agenda now be included in the revised Budget, from the Children's Arts Tax Credit to the tax credit for caregivers for infirm family members.
While the NDP shadow cabinet and critics will carp and complain and pound their desks with exasperation that the government will no longer fund their favourite projects for the greater priority of bringing down the deficit and paying off the national debt, who will be listening? Jack will be busy keeping his 103 MPs busy and behaving professionally.
But they won't be complaining about their recompense, since they're sitting pretty there. As the Official Opposition they finally get to play with the big boys on the international scene, and chuckling all the way to the bank, with all those bonus entitlements and extra pay. Those newbies can be introduced to how government works by taking turns on Parliamentary committees.
Imagine: a socialist party with new, raw talent handily elected without exerting a finger to campaign, show up for all-candidate meetings, appear in their ridings, some just out of their teens, suddenly become lawmakers. Imagine, a socialist leader living in Stornoway, that's a leg up from living in Toronto in rent-geared-to-income social assistance properties, isn't it?
What it means is that those who did the voting cared not one whit who they were voting for, as long as the name and the party represented someone other than who they meant not to vote for, while still discharging their obligation, and sending a message of discontent at the same time. The NDP did, after all, promise Quebecois that it knew their pain and would address it.
So here they are, the NDP with more Members of Parliament in this newly elected government, sitting as the Official Opposition, than they ever dreamed possible. They're so astonished their feet have barely touched terra firma since election night. Smilin' Jack is so exuberant about the outcome for the NDP he may never frown again.
He's set to hold the Conservative government to account, to prod and to complain, to insist and to thwart ... oh wait, he can't do that any more. He can still complain and he can still insist, but he can no longer prod and thwart. It's a majority government. So what has he and his party gained other than higher visibility? And the opportunity, given the usual cant of the NDP to become truly irksome in the House?
The Budget that helped to bring down the 40th Parliament held a whole lot of goodies for the electorate, in an attempt to persuade the NDP to play along with the Conservatives, but it didn't work. No reason now why those courtesies to the NDP agenda now be included in the revised Budget, from the Children's Arts Tax Credit to the tax credit for caregivers for infirm family members.
While the NDP shadow cabinet and critics will carp and complain and pound their desks with exasperation that the government will no longer fund their favourite projects for the greater priority of bringing down the deficit and paying off the national debt, who will be listening? Jack will be busy keeping his 103 MPs busy and behaving professionally.
But they won't be complaining about their recompense, since they're sitting pretty there. As the Official Opposition they finally get to play with the big boys on the international scene, and chuckling all the way to the bank, with all those bonus entitlements and extra pay. Those newbies can be introduced to how government works by taking turns on Parliamentary committees.
Imagine: a socialist party with new, raw talent handily elected without exerting a finger to campaign, show up for all-candidate meetings, appear in their ridings, some just out of their teens, suddenly become lawmakers. Imagine, a socialist leader living in Stornoway, that's a leg up from living in Toronto in rent-geared-to-income social assistance properties, isn't it?
posted by Pieface | 7:07 PM
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