“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”
W. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.
Well, it’s election time again. This is the 4th time in recent years we’ve done this and the last few have resulted in a minority governments. Don’t think this is a complaint. A minority probably represents the most democratic of situations, where governments must work with other parties to make government work. Think of it as a second chamber of sober second thought.
The problem inherent though, is that the last government really hasn’t been that interested in dealing with the other parties. The last budget was obviously designed to force an election, although the historic and somewhat sad situation of having a government found in contempt of parliament was the actual catalyst for non-confidence. The onus for making government work in a minority situation is directly on the prime minister, so this could have been equally named a motion of non-competence. My only assumption is that the Conservatives think they will win, so forcing an election, while at the same time calling it unnecessary, may be a good idea for them.
So, we will be innundated with polls (only one of those really counts and pollsters even say that they’re next to useless), innudated with telephone calls and innundated with doorbell ringing. Everyone of those callers will be more than willing to tell you everything you need to know.
You just might want to keep a grain of salt on hand, though, to help you deal with that.
Doug Rutherford 