Campaign 2008 morning after

It is slightly later than the morning after the 14 October 2008 federal election in Canada, which was this country's fortieth since 1867. Perhaps it is befitting that I am posting something so much later, as if out of symbolism in the profound shock and disbelief that has hovered over observers and pundits, candidates and others, irrespective of their partisan stripes or ideological dispositions.

In the past, some have told me that I am not necessarily qualified to comment on Canadian affairs, solely because I have spent most of my professional life studying the politics of international places and zones that many English-speakers still tend to view as terra incognita.

All the same, I am a proud and passionate Canadian, and always will be. My parents and other members of my family came to this country to escape war, occupation and certain repression from their particular homeland, and have made this country their permanent home and nation. I hope that this is sufficient backing for me to comment on the events of the past few days without invoking the ire of those that may happen to disagree with what I have to say. It really is not much.

I was closely watching the Liberals in this campaign, as I had many times before on both the federal and provincial levels. Their disastrous defeat, just above their worst historic defeat level in 1867, but also right below that which took place in 1984, is as shameful as it is shocking. It serves as a warning shot to its tattered numbers and members to clean up their act, unify, and start acting like the mighty party that they historically have been in this country.

Ever since Chretien stepped down and allowed his (short-lived) successor, Paul Martin, to take the helm, it is as if the Liberal Party has been cast adrift in a foggy, murky and potentially stormy sea from which they have not been able to set course. They have been like squabbling children without a sense of direction and purpose ever since, winding up with a leader -- Stephane Dion -- whose intelligence and integrity has also been matched by his neophyte-like qualities and narrow-minded intent.

Now, on the eve of what many people are anticipating is going to be his resignation as party leader, he leaves behind a very ignoble legacy. One could compare him to the present US President, whose begging and whining before television cameras in the initial wake of the bailout package rejection made him look embarrassingly un-Presidential.

Is this the legacy that will be bequeathed to Mr. Dion? The Liberals now have Messrs Martin and Dion to chalk up as historical footnotes to their mighty legacy in Canadian political history. The upcoming future leader of the party has these ghosts to contend with, as well as building things up on so many multiple levels; whoever it may be, I certainly do not envy them. Nor do I envy those Liberals that were openly rooting for Dion, calling him the next Prime Minister of Canada. I reckon that they have a lot of egg on their faces that needs washing.

Not all is lost, of course, and the Conservatives can hardly call this a victory for themselves, even though they did win a larger minority government than last time. Voter turnout was at 58-59%, which is the lowest in this country's history; for the Tories, it means that even less people actually voted for them. Then again, this same thing can be said for all the parties that partook in the election.

So much more could have been done by the Liberals, whose 38-day campaign was blighted by mismanagement, mishaps, disorganization, and a confused sense of direction and mandate that lacked simplicity. Dion tried to sell, against his advisers' advice, it now has emerged, a complex plan that left so much open to doubt when most Canadians feared the effects of the current economic turmoil.

So many electoral ridings in Ontario, my home province, had neck-to-neck results that swayed to the Conservatives. They could easily have gone (and, in most cases, could have actually remained) Liberal had they only tried harder and been better at it. The Liberals know a thing or two about winning huge majorities and mandates, but I guess this just could not transpire this time around. It tells a lot about the ways in which many Canadians view politics and the contenders that play out their business on Parliament Hill.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that this election was a warning shot for them. A warning shot that the time for internal disunity and wishy-washy nose-picking is long gone, and serious work needs to be done. A warning shot that their Conservative rivals came within earshot of achieving a majority mandate by actually doing some incredibly ridiculous things during the campaign and before. A warning shot that is a reminder of the importance of unity, direction and the perils of internal divisions.

I just hope these lessons are absorbed and taken straight to heart. Because, if the Liberals are reduced to a tertiary bunch of outsiders in Canadian politics, then I suspect few people, across all the spectrums that reside in this incredible and amazing country, will be snickering.