In America, the presidential election fever is all about “yes we can!”
In Canada, the imminent federal election fever will be all about “why can’t we?”
Asking that question will be the Conservatives, who, after two years of minority government, cannot seem to get national traction for majority rule.
As this editorial is being written, word is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament between Sept. 6 and 8, sending Canadians to the polls on Oct. 14.
The election will come roughly one year ahead of schedule as a frustrated Harper tries to find out if Canadians will make him majority leader.
This election is all about Harper’s Conservatives and has little to do with anything else.
You would not be wrong to classify it as a Harper referendum.
Getting another minority is as good as a loss for Harper.
That will send a message to everyone, locally and globally, that Canadians are just waiting for the right Liberal to come along and take back office.
It will also undermine Harper’s leadership within the Conservative framework.
The latest polls show the Conservatives having a slight edge over the Liberals with support from 36 per cent of the electorate. The Liberals hold 30 per cent of the electorate, according to pollster Ipsos Reid.
You can look at those numbers this way: Canadians approve of the administration but don’t really trust Harper enough to give him full control of the reins.
Currently the Liberals have been “allowing” the Conservatives to stay in power by abstaining on voting on key legislation.
The Liberals do that in full recognition that their leader Stéphane Dion is just a temporary fixture until someone with more chutzpah comes along for a real fight.
Harper’s battle in the upcoming election is not with the Liberals, NDP or Bloc.
It is with Canadians.
And it’s about trust.
His party machinery must be fully involved at the grassroots levels — which includes decentralizing control — to woo voters with the message that Harper is the man for all Canadians.
They must fight the ghosts of The Reform Party, which alienated newcomers with some of its racist undertones.
In ethnic neighborhoods across our nation, the changes made by the Harper administration, especially in the areas of justice and immigration, will be twisted to reflect that the Conservatives have a hidden “white” agenda.
This fight will be key to returning the Conservatives to power with a majority.
The next election is not about who is going to win.
It is for Stephen Harper to lose.
Canadians don’t need another minority government.
We need strident leadership that we need to know we can trust.