We're less than a month away from a federal election in this country and I find myself completely uninspired. I'm part of that small percentage of Canadians who actually reads the news from Ottawa, gives serious thought to who gets my vote and actually casts a vote, so if I'm feeling this uninspired I can imagine how apathetic the average Canadian is at this time.
Sure, Stephen Harper hasn't been as frightening as some of us may have feared, but his social politics are just too misaligned for me to give him serious consideration. That leaves me with the Liberals, NDP and Green parties. Cast stones at me if you will, but I still don't consider the Green Party a legitimate threat in my riding, and as a fringe party, they too are cast aside by yours truly. That leaves me with the Liberal Party and NDP.
I've voted for our current MP, NDP Peggy Nash, the last two federal elections, but prior to that I supported the Liberal MP in my old riding. This time, Peggy Nash has to deal with a formidable opponent in Gerard Kennedy. Nash vs. Kennedy is going to be a nail-biter.
Both Nash and Kennedy inspire me more than the leaders of the two parties. In particular, I'm going to use this entry to call out Stéphane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party.
Stéphane Dion doesn't evoke an ounce of hope from me. He's completely uninspiring, making Harper appear Churchillian by comparison. I'll never understand why he was chosen to lead this party unless they were looking for someone to throw under the bus while they waited their turn. Dion's complete lack of charisma and absolute failure to motivate voters and energize the old Liberal faithful is the main reason I'm seriously thinking about voting NDP again.
Until Dion is gone, and I'll bet that happens sooner rather than later, his party will be awfully lucky to hold in to a slim minority, and the way I'm feeling, I'm betting Harper gets his majority.
The Liberals are a party without a leader, and without a leader there's nothing to vote for.
