JUST GIVE US OUR CHECKS:

Canadians aren't buying the conservative message (Stephen Brooks, August 06, 2005, Vancouver Sun)

When Seymour Martin Lipset visited Canada during the 1988 election campaign, he remarked that all three federal parties -- they were then the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and the New Democrats -- were to the left of the centre of gravity of the Democratic Party in the United States.

Lipset is perhaps the most astute observer of Canada-U.S. cultural differences of his generation. So although his remarks raised some eyebrows among his Canadian listeners, most everyone conceded that his judgment could not easily be dismissed.

As Canadians approach the near certainly of a 2006 election -- "near" because the smell of campaign bus diesel fumes hung heavy in the air only a few months ago, only to dissipate in circumstances that seem believable only in retrospect -- it seems that we are looking once again at a Canadian party system that is arrayed entirely to the left of the centre of the Democratic Party. A party system in which the torch bearer of whatever exists of Canadian conservatism, the Conservative Party of Canada, presents Canadians with only a tepid and tentative right-of-centre message, expressed cautiously, full of qualifications and reservations, and without much confidence or enthusiasm.

Another example of how social welfare nations aren't going to correct to the Right just because they're dying. For the most part they'll be perfectly happy to vote for parties that just promise to make the death as comfortable as possible.

MORE:
Koizumi commits political suicide (J Sean Curtin, 8/09/05, Asia Times)

After weeks of fierce political infighting within the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan's Upper House of parliament has decisively rejected the flagship postal privatization bills of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, by 125 to 108 votes.

Even though the LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, hold a majority in the 242-seat upper chamber, many members of the fractious LDP joined the opposition to vote down the crucial bills, which were a vital component of Koizumi's reform program.

The humiliating defeat led Koizumi to call a snap general election, probably for September 11, which opinion polls indicate the LDP will find extremely difficult to win, and may herald a seismic shift in Japanese politics. The failure of the postal bills also probably marks the end of Koizumi's political career. Even if the LDP retains power, the desperately divided party is highly unlikely to re-nominate a prime minister who attempted political suicide. [...]

Since becoming prime minister in April 2001, Koizumi has frequently pledged he would either reform the political system or bring down the LDP. He now looks to have hit the self-destruct button, much to the dismay of LDP lawmakers who fear they may lose power in the snap election.

Forget reform--they want peace and quiet.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2005 12:08 AM