S-Curl Accident

The thing that bothers me the most about Canadian politics right now is that the motivations of all the parties are so transparant, that we can blatantly see their self-preservation instict at work.
Under Paul Martin, the Liberals were so determined to survive at all costs that they didn't actually accomplish anything in parliament during their 17-month tenure. Every single move that they made, whether it was luring Belinda Stronach over with cabinet post, conceding to the NDP budget demands or addressing gun violence by pledging to ban handguns was enacted in their own interest in order to hold onto power at all costs. If the Liberals were serious about issues rather than power for the sake of it, they might still be in power. If they had committed to public health care, the NDP would not have voted against them, and their government would not have fallen.
The Conservatives aren't much better, because there is an inherent hypocrisy in their self-preservation attempts. Apparently, the 'decepta-Cons' tried to lure the NDP with a promise to deliver the same budget demands that they themselves adamently opposed last year, if the NDP would prop them up for 2 -years. They say politics make for strange bedfellows, but that's only true if you are sleeping around. The NDP rejected the deal on the principle that it would be political suicide. More importantly, Jack Layton has too much integrity to support a Conservative government whose policies stand for the exact opposite of what his party does. Yes, the funding for post-secondary education, public transport, low income housing and foreign aid would have been nice, but they would have come at a greater cost when the NDP would be forced to support legislation that stands in opposition to their party platform. The most important thing is the issues and the second most important thing is loyalty to your constituants. Thank God that someone in Canadian politics still has some integrity left. Even though his party has no chance of winning an election in the forseeable future, Layton and the NDP don't seem desperate. Their dedication to the issues will sustain them.

related: Stephen Harper (AKA Megatron) doesn't eat babies. Way to go Toronto Star for putting this on the front page of your newspaper. Ridiculous.