SERENITY Replaces Reality.....The Emporer Wore No Clothes

Kelly McParland: Election or no election? We serenely assess the pros and cons

Posted: June 08, 2009, 1:30 PM by NP Editor

Michael Ignatieff says he will make a "serene and clear" decision this week on whether to force an election. He will make the decision. He will be serene. His serenity will envelope all who encounter him. We will replace Pierre Trudeau's Just Society with a Serene Society. My mantra awaits.

Just for fun, let's do a 'For' and 'Against' list: reasons for calling an election, and reasons not to.

Reasons not to

1. Canadians are overwhelmingly against it. The latest poll shows about 60% against.

2. The only issue the Liberals have been able to put forward to justify a vote is Employment Insurance reform, which has hardly stirred strong emotions among the electorate. No surprise there: The deficit is $50 billion, and the opposition is proposing increasing that by another $1.2 billion or more to increase the generosity of a program for the unemployed. But 85% to 90% of the country is still employed. If they're not likely to need EI, are they going to support spending $300 million on an election to make it richer?

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