Political Dissonance

It's over. Whatever chance the coalition had to assume power now appears to be stillborn. Not everyone will agree with me, but that's how I think it will play out over the coming weeks and months. Ssomehow, in his stumbling around in the dark, Harper managed to dodge this bullet. I am now going to shove this matter aside to talk of what I believe is a more fascinating matter - that Canadians' view of government in this country is out of tune, in dissonance, with the formal rules.

Let's review the basics by considering the following two statements. You can think of it as a quiz:

1. Canada is a constitutional monarchy.
   
2. Citizens elect local representatives  to Parliament to represent and defend their interests. The elected MPs select a government. The government selects its leader, the Prime Minister. The government stays in power by retaining the confidence of Parliament.

I expect that any child who has made it to high school could confidently affirm both statements. Every constitutional lawyer and political scientist would agree. Except that they are all very, very wrong. This is not how our political system actually operates, despite the constitution and the law. This became clear to many this week when the system was severely stressed.

Let's first look at the idea of a constitutional monarchy. I know that many people, perhaps even most, felt uncomfortable that an unelected individual could choose our government without consultation and without justifying that choice. That is a monarchy in action, and is perfectly legitimate in Canada. There is the nub of the first dissonance. While we mouth empty words about being a monarchy, our sentiments are republican - we elect those we put into power over us.

With all respect to the Governor General's prerogative, this is unacceptable. I suspect she understands this quite well. While I certainly do not know, I believe this played a role in her acceptance of Harper's recommendation to prorogue. Despite violating tradition and undermining the coalition's ability to govern with the confidence of Parliament, this was the decision that minimized the national dissonance. The realpolitik is that Canada is a republic and she affirmed this by bending to the government's will. Despite the unhappiness of the opposition and their supporters, and their defensible appeals to the constitution, I believe this decision sits best with the country at large. In Canada, the monarch remains a figurehead, as we largely believed all along.

Next, let's look at this idea of electing MPs and selecting a government. Again, everyone understands the rules of the game well enough. The legally correct arguments of the opposition are in dissonance with many people, without regard to their correctness. Canadians are not stupid and don't need a lecture from the politicians. When we go to the polls we go to elect a government. The idea of local representation at the national level has grown very week. Votes are largely cast on the basis of national, not local, interests, and as presented by parties, not individual candidates. I am not saying this is right or wrong, only that this is how we actually cast our votes. Or at least so it seems for the majority, or is at least the uppermost fact in the minds of the majority.

When Harper says that Canadians elected a government, he is wrong in law but right on the street. He has won this game because the street supports him. Even many of those who did not vote Conservative tend to feel this way. Rae's impassioned pleas to the people on the basis of law falls flat since in our bones this is not how we feel about democracy in this country.

Even while I struggle with the strange events of the past week, I am getting more comfortable with the outcome. In my opinion, Harper's peculiar victory, despite some of his unsavoury tactics, could prove to be a victory for democracy in the long run. Our centuries-old traditions need some sprucing up. Forget Westminster, we need a new Canadian parliamentary tradition.