Monday, June 23, 2008

Harper and Martin like prizefighters to streetfighters Mulroney and Chrétien

Do you remember when Liberal Prime Minister Paul Edgar Philippe Martin Jr. and his administration were the juggernaut progressives who was going to change the way business was done and start cleaning up the same kind of internal program kickback scandal within the cabinet of Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien, perhaps you remember when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper and his administration were the efficient reformers who was going to create a new government and begin allowing choice over the same kind of external bloated porkbarrel bureaucracy within the cabinet of Martin Brian Mulroney, can anyone remember either of these Canadian political scenarios of the past, or are they just figments of the imagination here in Canada?

No matter what the colour, red or blue, spectrum, left or right, ideology, liberal or conservative, Canadians seemed to a dolphin for every shark in office, until the dolphin is replaced by a shark, or becomes one. For some Canucks, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper represented positive change politically, open, democratic and brave, for others however, they were naive, uncontrolled and stupid, not representing change, but rather the negative status quo politically, quite like their precedessors Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien. Some the believe the Prime Minister's Office runs the Prime Minister, quite like how the Privy Council Office runs the Governmental Cabinet of Canada, so the agenda never permits for change, as the status quo remains the rule. Whatever, the point being, did Martin finally get to fix the quality of government under Chrétien, did Harper really get to rollback the size of bureaucracy under Mulroney, did either democratize, progress or reform the system as they promised they would upon being elected Prime Minister of Canada, or did they promise one thing and deliver another or nothing in the end, while those whom they replaced actually implemented their own agenda, albeit not so positive for the Dominion?

Maybe then Harper and Martin are like soft prizefighters to the tough streetfighters Mulroney and Chrétien, but punching glove can not match a barenuckled fist, neither in athletics or politics. Being democratic, progressive or reformed is positive when used properly, when not however, these political tools can be turned on you, the populous and eventually on the actual political change itself, for the benefit of the political status quo. Whatever the colour, spectrum or ideology of the politician, be sure to use the political agenda of change properly, or else the political agenda of the status quo will be the constant winner in this almost eternal fight!