Sep. 10, 2008 - Issue #673: Sex in the City 2008
Vuepoint
May day for democracy
In a 2008 federal election which has stumbled embarrassingly out of the blocks in its opening days—with cheap and disingenuous attack ads, an “error” somehow resulting in a pooping puffin and a Liberal candidate predictably fulfilling the election equivalent of Godwin’s Law by being the first to invoke Hitler’s name—it was the decision to exclude Green Leader Elizabeth May from the televised leaders’ debates that has rightfully attracted the most outrage across the country.
The network consortium—made up of the CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Global
and TVA—which unilaterally sets the shifting rules for which parties
it deems worthy to participate in the English and French debates announced
Sep 8 that the Greens would once again be shut out, explaining that
“three parties opposed its inclusion.“
It was confirmed that both the Conservatives and NDP had threatened to
boycott the debates if May was allowed to participate. While both Harper
and Layton initially attempted to at once defend their stance and, in a
game of hot-potato, shift blame for the decision back to the consortium,
their stance was seen as a blatantly hypocritical and overtly political
move intended only to benefit their respective parties.
It’s hard to know just what part of the debacle to be outraged by
first: the fact that a private consortium of broadcasters gets to decide
who is allowed to participate in a debate intended to inform Canadian
voters, the fact that a couple of political parties were almost able to
exercise a veto over the legitimate participation of another party or that
the consortium didn’t just call Harper and Layton’s bluff and
tell them to enjoy their non-participation.
It was clear from everything from polls to common sense to public outcry
that May should be allowed to participate in the debates. The Sep 10
reversal from both Layton and Harper, who now say they won’t boycott
the debate if May is allowed in, puts the ball back in the
consortium’s court, and looks likely to finally clear the way for May
to participate.
It would seem as though there are moves so insulting by even the pathetically low standards of democratic notions held by Canadians that they can be roused from their slumber and actually impact their political leaders. This election just got a whole lot better. V
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