Cabinet-making, neo-Harper style

As we anticipate a momentous change to our south and before turning to the developing Cabinet-making skills of our Prime Minister, I thought I'd return briefly to reading the entrails of the recent federal election campaign.

One of the more interesting sidebars of the campaign was the interest some young Canadians took in vote swapping. The idea is a simple one. If, say, I am living in a riding in which the NDP has a chance of winning and if I am a Green supporter, I can make an arrangement with a New Democrat elsewhere who may agree to vote Green in his/her riding if I vote NDP in mine. That way, the idea goes, the NDP may win the riding without the Greens losing their total number of votes.

This is apparently not at odds with the Election Act, although it is undeniably part of a provocative new way of thinking about electoral politics in Canada, led by the computer networking savvy of some our brightest young people. And it appears to have had one remarkable effect in the recent contest, helping Linda Duncan of the NDP win a seat deep in Harperland.

Edmonton Strathcona is part of the "Redmonton" that includes the University of Alberta, so it is not totally surprising to see a New Democrat win a seat there. (Jack Layton's fly-past of the tar sands, it appears, was subtly and effectively directed to this riding.)

Duncan will prove to be an important voice for the NDP, both in the House and in Alberta. Whether winning a seat by the force of vote splitting will prove to be more common in the future and whether or not it is consistent with democratic principles are interesting questions, both for the seminar room and around the kitchen table.

Dion's lack of political instincts

I suggested last week that Liberal losses in the general election were due to its leader's steadfast resolve to take an insufficiently political approach to the event. While there is much that could be said, at least the following appears certain. When facing a government that is controversial, not trusted, and seemingly desperate to hurry an election, the issue should always be about them, not about your nifty ideas.

Dion's green shift plan ensured that the election would not be about the past performance of Conservative governments, but instead about a brave new policy for the future. This proved to be an enormous mistake, ruining the reputation, moreover, of a policy that will not see the light of day again for quite a while. Dion didn't need to do this as his commitment to Kyoto was sufficient to secure the green votes he could win, and adequate to signal the direction his policy was to move if he were elected.

Moreover, Dion constructed this policy before knowing the conditions in which it would have to be implemented, during the economic downturn we face currently. Proclaiming it so boldly, so early, left Dion no room to moderate the policy to meet shifting conditions.

Finally, Dion based his campaign on the view that winning Montreal and urban Ontario would be enough to secure a minority Liberal government, with the support of the Atlantic region. In doing so, he revealed a conception of the country that was too narrow. Government is won in Canada when a party appeals effectively to all regions of the country. The Conservatives, in campaigning so vigorously in Quebec, displayed a pan-national vision of the country more effectively than Canada's "natural governing party".

Harper's political maturation

The new Federal Cabinet is being sworn in as I conclude this week's comments. It appears to be the best effort of Stephen Harper to-date, much better aligning Cabinet posts to the qualities of the members appointed. The increase of women in Cabinet is promising, even if the idea of women being highly profiled in a Conservative government is as frustrating for some as was the appointment of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate.

Harper's approach to government appears to be maturing and this will be one of the extra challenges that Opposition parties face next time they meet the electorate.