Meanwhile, in Canada

you remember Canada, yes? that parliamentary democracy to the north? the one above us -- geographically and democratically? the country that's signed onto kyoto, allows gays to marry, has universal healthcare, an economy that grew at a higher rate than ours (and isn't artifically propped up by military-industrial spending)?

yeah, that Canada.

for the first time in a long while, the Liberal party finds themselves out of power -- though only by the smallest of margins. the conservatives, led by oilman stephen harper (he's as conservative as bush, but a hell of a lot smarter -- so are a lot of dead people, though, so...), have patched together a minority government -- one that isn't terribly popular right now. i've been following politics in Canada since college (ten years ago almost), and for the first time the Liberals have a chance to elect a charismatic, smart, eloquent man as their leader.

michael ignatieff.

it will be muy interesante to see how this plays out. paul martin was a dreadful dreadful leader -- think al gore before he loosened up, perhaps even a bit worse. Canada is a much more liberal/progressive country than the U.S. in general. corporations don't have as much say in public policy there, for instance, which is why the conservative harper's election was a bit stunning. he won only because the four left of centre parties, as they're called -- the liberals, the new democrats, bloc quebecois, and the greens -- won just shy of 70% of the total vote but couldn't push one single party past the number of votes garnered by the conservatives in the most recent federal elections. so harper's minority government is on shaky ground and should be governing in the centre, though it hasn't been of late.

this means the liberals need to get their shit together soon -- minority governments tend not to last very long.

i think ignatieff is just the man to bring the liberals out of their doldrums. chretien and martin sucked. iggie is a bit blunt and provocative, but he carries himself extraordinarily well. and his policy ideas should appeal to a wide range of canadians.

poke around the star website and read more -- i'm not sure the liberals will let him win. he's not pc, to be sure, and that could hold him back. but it's what the liberals need. especially when harper continues to govern against the wishes of a majority of canadians.