Ah... the joys of being under 18
Once again, election fever is sweeping the country. It's the time when many people sit through hours of CBC news coverage and debates in order to narrow down the list of election candidates to the one worthy leader... or simply the best of the bunch. I, on the other hand, being just 17 years old, may sit back and relax among all the campaign chaos. Since I am not old enough to vote yet, I can afford to poke fun at the candidates and their campaign promises. When the time comes for Canadians to regret their choice of Prime Minister, people my age will simply say, "Sorry. Not my fault. I didn't vote him in!". Let's face it: the pickings are slim. Sure, Canada could vote Liberal again. While Chrétien didn't hurt us all that much, I can't bring to mind any spectacular Liberal achievements from the last three and a half years. Also, Chrétien, being one of the more dull politicians, doesn't bring to Canadian politics the flair and venom that we've come to expect. Perhaps it's time for a change of pace. It wouldn't make sense for anglophones to vote for the Bloc, so we can safely rule out Monsieur Duceppe. Preston Manning doesn't make very much sense either. Personally, I think that it would prove rather awkward for Canada to have a strictly unilingual leader, especially during this tumultuous time of separation talk. And, to be quite honest, I don't really understand Alexa McDonough. I heard her on the CBC one morning, and the only thing that I could gather was that she liked to use, at times, rather colourful language to describe her opponents. Perhaps she's right. Maybe that's what Canadian politics is really all about! Even so, I don't think that Canadians should take the chance on voting NDP. Finally, for my favourite. I admit, I do have a soft spot for Jean Charest. He can speak both French and English, and he makes a good point of contrasting himself to Mulroney. His main problem is that, at the moment, there is barely standing room for those few Conservatives in the House. Also, the fact that he was such a strong supporter of Kim Campbell during her short reign could create conflict with some unforgiving Canadians. Those of legal voting age, I mean. So, when it comes time for you to cast your ballot, take my advice and vote Conservative. So what if they aren't going to win? A year and a half down the road, you won't feel obliged to take any of the blame when the rest of Canada once again realizes that the Liberals didn't quite do what they had promised. After all, you made the smart choice and voted Conservative. Meanwhile, I didn't vote at all!
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