If you are like me, you are still trying to get your jaw off the floor over the results of the May 2 election.
The results were stunning. The Conservatives didn't just get back in, but do so with a majority. What's more, the New Democrats won 102 seats and the Liberals are reduced to third-party status. The Bloc Quebecois were reduced to rubble - four seats, just three ahead of the Greens.
Half the leaders on stage during the TV debates - Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe - are now outside the political spectrum. In fact it was difficult to keep up with the list of big names defeated on election night - Ken Dryden, Ruby Dhalla, Joe Volpe, Martha Hall Findlay and even foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon.
Just weeks ago this election was shaping up to be yet another uninspiring negative-ad-filled campaign, evidenced by those "he didn't come back for you" ads on TV. I ranted in my last column, calling this a "stupid, pointless election." I just had to blow off steam, because I was so fed up with what I was seeing from party hacks on TV.
No sooner did my column hit the stands than it was rendered obsolete by the fast-changing political landscape. Basically, the people of Canada were doing some venting of their own, saying through the polls they wouldn't have any more of this politicking as usual, either.
Credit for the shift in tone of the campaign goes to one man - Jack Layton.
The sudden surge of the NDP came largely because the NDP positioned themselves as a party that refused to go along with the negative attacks and mudslinging that characterized the other political parties.
I give Layton and his team a lot of credit for the ads they ran. Most of you probably saw those Â鶹´«Ã½AV Park-type ads on TV where they poked holes in the other political leaders' positions, followed by a direct message from Layton vowing to work hard to change things and get things done in Ottawa. Tthose clever ads were a lot more amusing than what we've seen from the Tories and Liberals the last few elections.
Before the debates, the media were downplaying NDP chances and raising concerns about Layton's health. They were describing how old and frail Layton looked using crutches and a cane after his hip surgery.
People who tuned in the debates saw a different man from the one depicted. Layton looked engaged and energetic. He landed the telling blow of the campaign by bringing up Ignatieff's poor attendance record in the House of Commons - from which the Liberal campaign never recovered.
Layton's campaign took on a "happy warrior" quality that contrasted with the tone and lack of policy that characterized the Ignatieff and Duceppe campaigns. You heard a lot of criticism from the Liberals about deficits and the Tories' contempt for Parliament, but they fell short in the positive proposals they actually put on the table. When Liberals presented their plans on health care, for example, it seemed like a rehash of policies that had lost them the last couple of elections.
The last gasp was a campaign rally in Toronto where the Liberals trotted out Jean Chretien to share the stage with Ignatieff. Right then you knew the they were finished. It is 2011, yet they were still stuck in 1993.
As for Duceppe, I think Quebecers finally realized voting for the Bloc was doing nothing for them in Ottawa. Duceppe was described by political commentator Chantal Hebert as the "angry man" of the campaign. Actually, he's been disagreeable for a while, always angry about how hard-done-by Quebec was no matter what party was in power. Opposing the government all the time was his mantra. The rest of Canada was getting sick of it, and finally Quebecers got tired of it, too.
So voters in Quebec went with the NDP, with their stepped-up focus on Quebec issues and pledges to re-engage Quebecers in the governance of Canada. At least that's more productive than being opposed to everything all the time.
Frankly, I think voters were blowing off steam at the two largest opposition parties for doing nothing but complain. Voters finally had enough of them.
They either endorsed the more positive campaign of the NDP, a party that at least gives lip service to trying to get things done in Parliament, or they voted for the Conservatives in response to a well-run campaign by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper stayed above the fray as he called for a strong and stable government to manage economic recovery.
I'm sure many voted for Harper in response to the instability and nonsense that has characterized the last several years of minority Parliaments - the slow speed of legislation; the "coalition" attempts; the constant grilling of government officials; the endless 24/7 cycle of electioneering.
I think voters were as tired of this situation in Ottawa as I was, and wanted parties to work to get things done. Voters rewarded the parties that showed interest in actually improving the situation. Already, things have changed for the better. We won't need to spend money on an election for four years.
Good riddance to minority Parliaments. Hopefully things will improve in Ottawa, finally.
