FACE TO FACE: Oh, about that federal election...
For the many shell-shocked CBC lovers, Margaret Atwood acolytes and other Trudeaupian Canadians who are trying to explain away the new Conservative majority as nothing more than a deplorable result of a cockeyed electoral system or, perhaps, the appalling outcome of polarized politics, I have three words: Get over it.
The result of Monday's election is a clear indication that Canadians voted with their heads to support a party that promises reliable management of the economy, less wasteful government and a fairer criminal justice system.
Many of the nattering class who put forward other explanations for the Conservatives' coast-to-coast conquest are being calculatingly hypocritical. Before May 2, they were urging Canadians not to vote for the Tories specifically because of party policies such as its promises to reduce corporate taxes, allow income-splitting for families and support the armed forces with new fighters.
But while these party policies were important enough to attack before the election, left-wing critics now want us to believe that Canadians didn't really give Prime Minister Stephen Harper a direct mandate to proceed with them. We'll see about that.
I also have to question the lib-left's exuberance over the surprising crush of NDP orange in the province of Quebec. My debating colleague is understandably pleased that the success of Jack Layton's ragtag band of Quebec candidates has allowed the party to form the official opposition.
Better yet, my colleague suggests, is that, facing a majority government, New Democrats can be free to advance hardcore socialist policies without fear of bringing down the government.
The last point is undoubtedly correct but I think the bigger issue is that the NDP, Canada's party of perpetual grievance, has now found a home in Quebec, Canada's province of perpetual grievance. This toxic brew can't be good and may actually do more harm to good government than did the Bloc Quebecois's infuriating presence on Parliament Hill.
My colleague and I agree on one point, however: We do not believe Harper will use his majority to spring a secret, right-wing agenda on an unsuspecting nation. As much as I might like (and my partner loathe) a more conservative tilt, I believe the Tories have already played their most important cards in what has turned out to be a winning hand.
An award-winning journalist, a writer with Edmonton's Report Magazine and Toronto's Catholic Insight magazine, and co-host of RoadkillRadio.com, Face to Face columnist Terry O'Neill is a long-time Coquitlam resident who sits on the board of the Coquitlam Foundation and chairs the finance commitee of St. Joseph's Catholic parish.
