... another perspective on Canada and the Harper regime,
but in this one nobody gets called "a piece of sh*t"....
The Guardian view on Canada’s elections: is the Stephen Harper era over?
It is the second biggest country in the world, yet sometimes it seems
almost invisible. Often ignored by its powerful neighbour, regarded
with only distant affection by the two European countries from which
its settlers came, and taken for granted by many nations who should
be more grateful than they are for its help and mediation in the past,
Canada ploughs a lonely furrow. Now it is heading toward an election
that will determine whether it will continue along the predictable
rightward course set by Stephen Harper as prime minister over the
past decade or whether it can recover some of the verve and originality
that once marked its politics, not least under Pierre Trudeau, whose
son Justin is one of the contenders.
Under Mr Harper, Canada has not only moved to the right in almost
every area of policy but has entered an era of highly calibrated,
money-driven negative campaigning at odds with the courtesy that is
one of the most attractive of Canadian qualities. So the result matters,
obviously for Canada itself, but also for a world that has long been
missing the special role it used to play on the international scene.
You'll find the rest of this interesting perspective right here!
*
but in this one nobody gets called "a piece of sh*t"....
The Guardian view on Canada’s elections: is the Stephen Harper era over?
It is the second biggest country in the world, yet sometimes it seems
almost invisible. Often ignored by its powerful neighbour, regarded
with only distant affection by the two European countries from which
its settlers came, and taken for granted by many nations who should
be more grateful than they are for its help and mediation in the past,
Canada ploughs a lonely furrow. Now it is heading toward an election
that will determine whether it will continue along the predictable
rightward course set by Stephen Harper as prime minister over the
past decade or whether it can recover some of the verve and originality
that once marked its politics, not least under Pierre Trudeau, whose
son Justin is one of the contenders.
Under Mr Harper, Canada has not only moved to the right in almost
every area of policy but has entered an era of highly calibrated,
money-driven negative campaigning at odds with the courtesy that is
one of the most attractive of Canadian qualities. So the result matters,
obviously for Canada itself, but also for a world that has long been
missing the special role it used to play on the international scene.
You'll find the rest of this interesting perspective right here!
*
