Reader and commenter Scylding has pointed out that political pandemonium is breaking out in his homeland of Canada, but those of us in the lower 48 states are not even noticing. He makes a good point, since what is happening up north is of great significance. Finally, the situation makes the Washington Post.
Canada, remember, has a parliamentary system, in which the elected representatives choose the Prime Minister, the country’s chief executive, similar to our President. The Prime Minister will be the head of the majority party; or, if no one party has the majority, which is likely since there are many parties unlike the USA’s limited choice of two, a coalition has to be put together. Well, the Conservatives are in power right now, with the Prime Minister being Stephen Harper, a quite able leader, according to my Canadian friends. This happened through a coalition. An election two months ago gave him even more delegates on his side. But now an attempt is being made–led by the separatist party that wants French-speaking Quebec to secede from the Union– to form a new coalition that would oust Harper. Changing governments in mid-stream like this, while common in, say, Italy, has not been done before in stability-loving Canada. (Scylding and other Canadians out there, correct me if I’m getting it wrong and fill in the blanks.)
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