Left of centre must unite in Canada
A Conservative friend e-mailed me last night that he was delighted and would sleep well. I did not.
Once again our system has produced a so-called majority government that represents a minority of the people.
The new majority Conservative government is absolutely legitimate in accordance with the way the system works. Nevertheless the 60 per cent of us who have a more left of centre view will not be well represented nor I suspect will we be well served by this government.
I fault mostly the Liberal Party of Canada for giving the country two uninspiring leaders in a row. Both were decent people but not good political leaders. What is now required is for the Liberal and the New Democratic Parties to come together and form a united left of centre party.
Electoral reform is also badly needed. The first past the post system only works well in a two-party system.
In this election, candidates in many ridings including here in Nanaimo-Alberni were elected without majority support. However, politicians have shown little enthusiasm for electoral reform.
The only pragmatic hope we have for more representative government is for the left to unite while citizen groups continue to work for reform of our electoral system.
Jim Crist
Nanoose Bay
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