Congratulations!
To the CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA — the new governing party of Canada!
Geez, did you know that the Canadian Liberal Party has been in power for about 70 of the last 90 years? That’s amazing! That means that, on average, for only TWO YEARS out of every DECADE since WORLD WAR I has it happened that somebody _other_ than the Liberal Party has ruled Canada. Or, taken sequentially, it’s akin to having the Liberals in charge in Canada from 1937 to the present day.
Talk about your total domination.
Well, anyway, the Conservatives (or “Tories”) are in charge now, at least for the time being.
And what does the Conservative Party of Canada stand for?
Ann Althouse cites the following:
“It is in the DNA of this Harper government to improve the relationship with Washington.”
Said Janice Stein, director of the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, according to the NYT:
Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party defeated the long entrenched Liberal Party in Canadian elections on Monday. A Conservative victory is a striking turn in the country’s politics and is likely to improve Canada’s strained relations with the Bush administration….
Mr. Harper, 46, is a free-market economist who expressed strong support for Washington at the time of the American-led invasion of Iraq and shares the Bush administration’s skepticism of the Kyoto climate control protocol, which Canada has signed and ratified. His party was formed three years ago as a coalition of two conservative parties.
Such positions are in sharp contrast with those of [Liberal] Prime Minister [Paul] Martin, who rejected cooperation with President Bush’s missile defense program, ratcheted up criticism of American trade policies and caustically criticized Washington during the campaign for not supporting the Kyoto protocol.”
A commenter on this piece added:
…on the surface of things, this seems to reflect what has just happened
in Germany. On the strength of good showing and after piecing together a “grand
coalition,” the new leader of the German government is an advocate of strong
ties with the US, supported the invasion of Iraq, and believes in a more robust
market capitalism than her predecessor. Is this a trend?
Hopefully one that’s gaining momentum…