The Day After

"Left" to our own devices. Again.

It is the day after election day in Canada. The Liberals now have a minority as expected. So we Canadians can now look forward to a left-biased Parliament as the Liberals work with the NDP on key policy areas. Like "National Day Care" or "Throw More Money At Healthcare to Solve Its Bad Management". Am I beginning to miss Chretien already? If Paul Martin acts like he has been talking the last few weeks of the campaign (more money for this, more money for that, bring on your cause and I will fund it), I would have to say that either: a) Chretien was the real fiscal conservative in the Liberals or b) Paul Martin is a political chameleon able to adjust his views from right-leaning to left-leaning to slide back into power.

I cannot describe myself as "right wing", since on some issues I can see the wisdom of the "left leaning" approach. No political party has a monopoly on the truth. However, I do decry the left's default approach to most problems. By concluding that all we need is more money from the taxpayers to solve each problem, rather than considering fundamental reforms first, we chase a rabbit down the wrong path. The Canadian Left has a lot to learn from the UK left in this regard. The UK Labour Party has managed to bring fiscal reponsibility and progressive approaches together. If I were to chastise the political left it would for their penchant for forgetting that a progressive social framework can only be built upon a thriving economic foundation.

Will more money help healthcare delivery in Canada? Probably yes in the short term. Is it the most efficient way to tackle the healthcare challenge in Canada? I would argue not. Should the left care about efficiency? Absolutely yes indeed. If, as the left believes, there are many good causes that need money, surely they understand that an inefficient allocation of money to healthcare (i.e. giving it more money than it needs) means that some other causes are underfunded.

But the political will to really roll up our sleees and fix the system is not going to materialize unless their is a full-blown crises. It is usually easier to sell people on the need for more money.

And now some thoughts on the Conservatives. I disagree with many who say Stephen Harper did a solid job and moved the Conservatives forward in the minds of the electorate. I have followed him closely these few weeks and the one judgement I continue to reach on Mr. Harper is that he seems to lack the ability to deliver straight talk on key issues. When confronted over abortion, Iraq, etc. he seems to hesitate and backpeddle rather than stating his clear position. This did create a wedge for the Liberal attack ads to work in the minds of voters. Rather than a straightforward response, Mr Harper's nuanced intellect allowed him to dodge,wiggle and weave a stream of explanations and retorts that likely fed peoples irrational fear of him. The Left calls him "Extremist" and he plays into their hands. Noone remembers that the Left is as "Extremist", but on a different range of issues. Regardless, Mr. Harper was unable to appropriately defend and explain his positions to reasonable people.

The best I can say about Mr Harper right now is that he was "competent". Competency is a bare minimum - and the best that can be said is that he met that rather low standard. But it was not enough.