Wednesday, September 5, 2012

PQ posts SMALLEST PLURALITY EVER for a full-slate Canadian government

smallest plurality EVER !
The PQ set a new record low (31.9%) for the winning government party in Canada on Tuesday - maybe a new low anywhere and anytime in a "first past the post" electoral system.

 (Yes the previous record holder was the provincial Liberals in BC in 1924 (31.3%).

 But as my former Professor Murray Beck was often at pains to point out about "the good old days", many times the major parties chose not to run a full slate and let a nominally "independent" Liberal or Conservative candidate run instead - a independent who soon supported their party once again,  after the election.

 In this case, the true Liberal popular vote , at the first meeting of the legislature,  was a point or two bigger than that of the PQ in 2012).


Impact on Climate Wars at election time ?


Partisanship this loose and fluid gives both sides hope in the ongoing climate wars : because the positions on the question "is the climate changing due to human activity ?" can no longer be resolved by simply counting the party with the most heads in a stable two party situation.

Politics is now very competitive in Canada with no party counting on more than a handful of their faithful to actually remain "faithful" through thick and thin.

The pro global warming vote going solid for one party could spell doom for the smaller but - until now - much more concentrated "climate denier vote"....

No comments:

Post a Comment