To the Editor,
Early on in Canada’s federal election campaign, someone had labeled it a “Seinfeld Election” because it was an election about nothing. When it mercifully ended on the night of Sept. 20 that proved to be absolutely true, as the seat numbers each party won were almost identical to those held at the dissolution of parliament on Aug. 15. A few seats changed hands, and a few government ministers were defeated. One television commentator called it a costly $610-million Cabinet shuffle. When MPs are sworn in they must be made aware that they are to serve for four years until the next fixed election date, unless there is a “no confidence” vote. The Governor-General should outlaw snap elections in her next throne speech.
On a lighter musical note, watching party leaders’ speeches on election night, it was easy to link each of them with a Beatles’ song, playing on the Wurlitzer jukebox between my ears: Annamie Paul whose Green Party let her down so badly, definitely needed some cheering up, with the joyful calypso-flavoured : “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”
Yves-Francois Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois was easy to satisfy with the Beatles’ French language masterpiece : “Michelle.”
Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party Of Canada managed to split the Conservative vote, thus assisting his Liberal adversary, was perfectly matched with : “Nowhere Man.”
Jagmeet Singh of the New Democratic Party spent the entire campaign promising to tax millionaires and billionaires, and his song has to be : “Baby, You’re A Rich Man.”
Erin O’Toole of the Conservatives certainly tried to unite the different wings of his party, and would often plead : “Come Together.”
Justin Trudeau of the Liberals engineered this wasteful boondoggle Seinfeld Election during the pandemic’s fourth wave, and deserves to repeatedly hear : “I Should Have Known Better.”
Of course, all the party leaders will go to bed with an early Beatles’ anthem ringing in their ears : ”Money, That’s What I Want.”
Bernie Smith,
Parksville