A Nation of Centrists

So Canada had its election yesterday, and as expected the Conservatives one, but only a minority government, which means they must negotiate with other parties in order to pass legislation. And they only won this much by moving to the centre. The new Prime Minister Stephen Harper realized that the reason the Liberals always win is that they straddle that middle ground in politics - where people are neither right wing or left wing. In order to win, it was necessary to go where every other Conservative government has to go to defeat the Liberals - the centre. The most progressive party, the NDP also made gains in this election, but they also did it by moving to the centre, smartly focusing on urban development issues instead of ideology.

When I read the opinions of those Canadians who are on the left or on the right, I really understand why most of us stick to the centre. We're not radical enough to be the far-left paradise of a Michael Moore. Nor will we ever be right wing enough to make the Freepers happy. I am proud of Canada, where strategic voting reigned, where we changed the government, but put the new one on a short leash.