Let The Polarization Begin

Could this be a hint that Canada may be headed to a 2-party system?

Liberals are once again debating their position on the political spectrum as they recover from their defeat in the Jan. 23 election and seek a leader to succeed Mr. Martin.

Many Liberals feel the party drifted too far to the right, and that cost them votes in the last election, where they lost seats to the NDP.

"The Tories have the right flank," a senior Liberal said. "We need to take centre and not lose anything on the left."

Others say that if party moves to the left, Liberals could harm their reputation as good fiscal managers.

"We have got to plant our standard firmly on the centre-left of Canadian politics," leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff told Alberta Liberals last weekend.

The former Harvard professor defined centre-left as a commitment to social justice, "Liberal internationalism" and fiscal responsibility. That centre-left is a place where many Liberals feel comfortable.

"We have to take a progressive approach in the leadership," Manitoba Liberal MP Anita Neville said. "We have to be out in the front of the issues that matter to Canadians, which I believe is the social safety net."

Liberals say that traditional Liberalism was abandoned out of necessity during the Chrétien majority years, both to deal with the economy and to beat the Reform and Canadian Alliance parties that campaigned on tax cuts and smaller government.

"Through having taken the reins in '93, it was necessary for the best interests of the country to give it a tough cut right," said Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, who is the Atlantic chairman for the Ignatieff campaign. "The strategy was successful not just for the fiscal picture for the country, [but it] proved to be the right political direction as well . . . it was appropriate at that time because Canadians knew the dire straits we were in and we had to right the ship."

Two points:

1. The Conservative Party of Canada is NOT "Right-Wing"! They lost that distinction when they decided they had to appeal to the lib-left majority in Ontario and Quebec. and,

2. I think there are going to be a lot of pundits out there who are going to say that we need the left to be fractured if the conservatives are to retain power. I think it's the exact opposite. If you lump the MoonBats and hard-core socialists in with the moderate liberals, all of a sudden the moderate liberals aren't quite so appealing. The silent majority would finally have to choose who they wish to be alligned with. No more mushy-middle-ground.

Think about it.