Docking Procedures

Things seem to be looking good for the Conservative-Alliance merger up north. Even with a flap over Alliance MP Larry Spencer saying some over-the-top anti-homosexual stuff hasn't scared off the Conservatives from seeking a merger.

The two parties are (or have) voted on the issue. The Alliance had a party-wide vote on approving the merger, with a majority passing the measure. The Conservatives are voting on a riding (paliamentary district)-by-riding basic, with passage needing the approval of two-thirds of the delegates voted on in the riding caususes over the last few days. Most of the ridings seem to be voting for merger.

The votes have already been cast for the Alliance vote-they'll be announcing the results Friday. The Conservatives will have a virtual convention Saturday, but it looks like they'll get the two-thirds needed for approval.

Then, the fun begins. The new party has to worry about shrinkage from both ends, from conservative Alliance members thinking the new party's too liberal and from the left wing of the Conservative party who might prefer the Liberals to the new merged Conservative Party of Canada. There isn't anywhere for the small-c conservatives to go other than some protest party, but the left edge¹ of the Conservatives could easily become Liberals, especially if incoming PM Paul Martin (Chretien will be retiring next week) runs on a somewhat business-friendly neoliberal platform.

Note to American readers; if you see PC in a Canadian political article, it means Progressive Conservative, the official title of the Conservative party.

¹ I almost said RINOesque, but Republican in Name Only doesn't translate north of the border. To confuse things even further, there is a small libertarian/anarchist Rhino Party in Canada which causes even more confusion to Canadian readers.

Comments

[Bene Diction]

Naw. The Rhino party doesn't confuse us as much as RINO does.:^)