Unscripted Election

(written for rabble.ca's election coverage)

Shock, surprise and the unanticipated have been facts of life during this election campaign, leaving the supposed geniuses in the campaign war rooms looking all too mortal.

That’s good.

There’ve even been a few moments when democracy and socio-economic reality have broken through the hermetically sealed bubbles in which the leaders travel.

The Harper-Layton caper to deep six May was foiled by an angry public.

Harper’s glide toward a majority for a few days last week encountered turbulence when the oil companies engineered a 13 cent a liter increase in the price of gasoline across Canada before Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast. It harshly reminded people that we have a prime minister who first and foremost represents Big Oil and never saw a price gouge he would intervene to check.

This week the towers of capitalism have been swaying south of the border, calling into question the judgment of the corporate hominids who are Stephen Harper’s role models. Do we really want to entrust Harper with the management of our economy during the turbulent months and years to come?

The Nanos poll, the only one I have any faith in (Harris/Decima always gets it wrong), today shows: Conservatives, 38; Liberals, 31; NDP, 17; Greens, 8; and Bloc, 6.

The Conservatives are flirting with a minority and are facing head winds in swing ridings in Ontario, although they could still make big gains in Quebec if the Bloc continues to decline.

Harper knows he’s in some trouble. He’s acting tetchy, sounding shrill about the plans of his opponents during difficult economic times. In the face of gun violence in Toronto, his refusal even to consider a ban on hand guns reminds city dwellers that Harper is an ideological clone of the National Rifle Association.

When’s somebody going to challenge him on the war? Jack….