Or at least the majority that counts which, unfortunately, is not a majority of Quebecers. A solid majority (58 per cent) did not vote Liberal. Premier-elect Couillard and his party won 56 per cent of the seats in the National Assembly with only 42 per cent of the popular vote, an electoral victory but not a democratic one.
I have long complained about being ruled federally by a party that most of us didn't want. Now Quebecers will be ruled by a party that didn't do much better than Mr. Harper's Conservatives.
Perhaps it won't be as bad in Quebec. After all, the Liberals have won, and if they are truly liberals, they will listen to a broad range of views. Our federal government, on the other hand, is not only the most ideological we've ever had, it's led by a man who is the least open to other views of any Prime Minister I can remember. Fortunately for Quebecers, Mr. Couillard appears to be a great deal more inclusive.
Nonetheless, it would be nice to see governments in this country required to represent at least a majority of their citizens. But that, it seems, just isn't the Canadian way.
Thanks for posting this. You make an excellent point. The QC Liberals no more earned a majority on 41% of the vote than Harper did on 40%.
ReplyDeleteIn a real democracy, an actual majority of voters is represented in government (the norm in the developed world.) Doling out absolute power to arbitrary minority parties is absurd.
Some may think this particular roll of the dice turned out Ok. But given a united Con party is poised to change Canada beyond recognition, replacing democracy with a crap shoot is really not such a great idea.