G'morning David,

DW> But, after the referendum, it became clear that the
DW> separatists really intended to declare Quebec an independent
DW> country the moment a "yes" majority was obtained.

Nom d'nom d'chien !

 DW> (You think *you've* got problems!)

It's often hard to decide which endangers life worse - economics 
or politics...

 DW> But the man who was mainly responsible for steering the Act
 DW> through the federal Parliament was Stephane Dion, who has
 DW> since become the leader of the Federal Liberal Party. He is
 DW> so reviled by the Quebec separatists that it is unlikely that
 DW> the Liberals can win any election under his leadership, which
 DW> is a shame, since he is a good man.

Par for politics in general...

 DW> It won't have any practical effect until the *next*
 DW> provincial election, anyway, which won't be until
 DW> about 2012. If the result is "yes", that will be the
 DW> first election held under the new rules. By then,
 DW> with any luck, any problems will have been resolved.

Don't count of it - if neither the Germans nor the Kiwis can fix 
MMP, there's summat wrong with it.

One of NZ's bugbears lies in the status of list MPs - those the 
party elect to represent them and to strike the proportion.

We've had several resign from the party - but not from Parliament.  
The stupid NZ MMP law allows this,  even though the party involved 
cannot then restore its proportion !!!

This leaves the resignee as a loose-cannon vote, unfettered by 
voter or party ties, to meddle in those issues that teeter on 
50:50 outcomes.

And once again,  no major party is prepared to fix this anomoly  
in case it costs them election votes....

An American poet whose name escapes me wrote...

A politician
Is an arse
Upon which
Everyone has sat.

 DW> I, personally, do not believe that Parliament should always
 DW> reflect public opinion. Governments are supposed to be
 DW> *leaders*, not followers of the mob.

The problem here, as both ordinary Americans and Iraqis might 
agree, is the quality of leaders;  the supply of those who are 
mostly right seems to have been throttled. 

 DW> In an election, the voters in each riding (constituency)
 DW> are supposed to choose a representative who will be willing
 DW> and able to consider matters in greater depth than average-
 DW> Joe does. If the MP disagrees with Joe's opinions, that's
 DW> fine.  The MP has made a better-informed decision, and it is
 DW> justifiable that his opinion should have the greater
 DW> influence in making legislation, etc..

As well as representing his riding's constituents to the 
bureaucrasy in matters of concern,  you describe a NZ MP's 
traditional role precisely...

 DW> Of course, reality is never as good as ideals...

There was a famous election here which brought in a new PM at the 
same time as more than 90% voted in a referundum seeking harder 
prison sentences for criminals.

The new PM's victory interview on TV highlighted the oracle-like 
pronouncement that the referundum results wasn't really meant and 
wouldn't be acted upon....

Is there any vocal support group in Ontario for a change to MMP ?

They usually have a set of claims for benefits that'll make 
`Maxted's Universal Panacea for Whatever Ails You' seem quite 
innoculous...

Miles.

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