Mr. Dithers goes to "Polly"-wood.

Poor Paul Martin appears more and more frazzled as the days draw closer to an election. He has always seemed frazzled but he's looking more and more haggard as well. I do feel bad for him. He totally and openly exposed himself and the Liberal government to the uncovering of the sponsorship scandal but also to the pack of salivating wolves at bay (namely, Steven Harper the opportunistic, shifty-eyed, stoic Alliance (oops, "Conservative") leader of God's chosen Albertans and Gilles Duceppe, the crazy-eyed separatist. Where is Jack Layton in all of this? He is remaining focused on the budget and staying well out of the feeding frenzy. Good for him, he knows that he will not likely become Prime Minister anyway and chooses to ensure that some of the policies that Liberals will put through and that are favourable to the NDP are enacted.

Like most Canadians, I am reluctant to go to the polls again but will be forced to do so in the coming weeks. We are faced once again with a choice between the devil that we know or the devil that we don't know. Given those choices, most will chose familiarity. Who knows, perhaps we may have a conservative shift after all.

Paul Martin and the Liberals - Mr. Martin was left with the uneviable task of carrying on the Liberal legacy as Mr. Chretien's successor. While they were furiously at odds with each other during Mr. Chretien's term, I still believe (however naively) that both men, deep down in their hearts want what's best for Canada first and not necessarily what's best for themselves. The scandal is no small matter but the attempt by Mr. Martin to 'fix what was wrong' is amounting to political suicide. I think it's honest of him to admit that it was wrong and now to try to fix it. The sponsorship scandal was immensely wrong and forgiveness in the people's mind does not come easily but I think he was faced with no choice but to order the inquiry. Mr. Martin's temporary Prime Ministership was and remains to be nothing but a stop gap approach to transition and damage control.

Jack Layton and the NDP - Mr. Layton should do his best to seize the moment. Try not to get too muddied in the mudslinging and try not to get his eager nose nipped by the scavenging hyenas. The NDP stands to make some ground with disillusioned Liberals and that's not such a bad thing. They have positioned themselves to become a truly viable alternative and a relatively strong party as we had when Mr. Broadbent was leader. Their shift towards centre can capture many votes from the Liberals.

Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc - It goes without saying that M. Duceppe is like a kid with the biggest Christmas present. He didn't have to work too hard to bolster support for his party. All his has to do is show up and reap his rewards. I don't think he minds cozying up with the Conservatives. His supporters will never vote Conservative anyway. They are more anti-Liberal (federalist) than they are pro-Conservative.

Stephen Harper and the Conservatives - Lordy, where do we begin with little blue eyed Stephen and his band of God's chosen Albertans. I have no question about his honesty, that's for sure. However diametrically opposed I am to his views on every single social policy that his party stands for, I cannot fault him for stating his honest beliefs. However, I can't for the life of me support this Alliance Party whose leaders stand for old fashioned, ultra-conservative views (hidden behind the cloak of "Christian" beliefs) on immigration, gay marriage, their reluctance to support the Kyoto Accord. They try to distance themselves from the Republicans south of the border but come on, who is kidding whom? It does not take a genius to see how similar they are. I wont go on about gay marriage here but will save that for another blog. I shudder when I see Mr. Harper go on about Liberal "dithering, deception and danger". Somehow, I don't think that his party is any less corrupt than the Liberals might be.

The Green Party - the poor forgotten Greens should be given a fair shake as a true alternative. I'm hoping that they emerge from this mess with some representation. Any gains will be good for them as we do need a voice in Parliament that speaks about the environment, ecology and sustainable living.

And there you have it, I, like most Canadians don't really want another election but I think we probably need one. I'm not really looking forward to the times ahead as they look like they may be fractious and very uneasy times. We need an accountable government with checks and balances but what we may end up with is a government that has no more stable than the one we have now with four parties pulling in different directions.