The Ghost Of Trudeau Waiting In Wings

The voters are disillusioned with the liberals, the liberal party is in disarray and even in their attempt to choose a new "leader" they seem to be faltering so it is suggested that they can't beat the conservatives in a face to face then the thing to do is change the rules. How left wing!

Form coalition cabinet with NDP

Recipe for a return to Liberal rule:

Sep. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM

HUGH THORBURN

At the beginning of the current Liberal leadership race, Michael Ignatieff said that the party should position itself in the centre left. If by this he means that the Liberals should be on the progressive side of the Conservatives, and on the moderate side of the NDP, I think he is correct — but perhaps not for the usual reasons.In the past the Liberal party has defended the "first-past-the-post" electoral system. This has been the natural self-interested thing to do, given the prevailing distribution of party support in the country. However, the unification of the PCs and the Canadian Alliance into the Conservative party has created a situation in which this new party can, it appears, count on as much or more voter support than the Liberals. The Liberals, therefore, may no longer be Canada's natural governing party, because they are not assured of the largest plurality of votes, which normally gave them a majority of seats in Parliament. Currently, no party has that advantage, or if it now exists it belongs to the Conservatives, who are united in one party — as against the parties to their left, which are divided into Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois — none of which can currently command a majority of seats.So what should the Liberals do? Should they follow their past practice and defend first past the post because it has always favoured them, or, taking account of the changed circumstances of party support, go along with the NDP and Greens in favour of change toward a more proportional system?

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