Canada
OK I'm going to start this with a relatively simple one. The politics of Canada has been on the fringes of the UK media recently (at least in a minor way). I wanted to understand it a little better, so I did a little research. What follows is what I found out.
Canada is technically still a dominion of the UK and thus it's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In practice though, the head of state is the Viceroy, who is known as the Governor General. The Governor General is appointed by the British Monarch on the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister. Technically they serve indefinitely, but convention has it that they serve for approximately five years, this is sometimes extended to seven years on Prime Ministerial advice. The Governor General exercises the Monarch's powers on their behalf, and as such holds all of the Royal Prerogatives, although the British Monarch could technically overrule their decisions, but this has never happened and in all reality seems highly unlikely. The Governor General gives royal assent to all bills, signing them into law and is responsible for appointing the government. The Governor Generalship by convention alternates between the French and British communities in Canada.
The current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean, who is the first black Governor General and the third woman to hold the position. She originally born in Haiti and was appointed in 2005 by former Prime Minister Paul Martin. The previous incumbent was Hong Kong born Adrienne Clarkson.The most powerful post in Canada is the Prime Minister. Much like the UK Prime Minister, he is the head of the cabinet and sits in the legislature. The current PM is Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party. He came to power in 2006 after his party defeated the the Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal Party. His party did not, however, win by a sufficient majority and had to form a minority cabinet (which basically means his government's existence is based on the various opposition factions remaining divided). Despite this the Minority Government survived until Parliament was dissolved by the Governor General for the 2008 Federal Elections in October. Harper's party actually increased its mandate, gaining 19 more and a total of 143 of the 308 seats, defeating opposition liberal leader Stephane Dion, who offered to resign once a new leader had been selected.
The interesting thing happened when Prime Minister Harper attempted to pass a financial bail-out bill, which angered the opposition parties and appears to have drawn them together. The Liberals and the Left-Leaning New Democratic Party came to an agreement to form a coalition, which would be larger than the Conservative minority. This agreement also included the separatist and French-speaking Bloc Quebecois (the third largest party). So you have the bizarre situation where a leader who is going to stand down was set to become PM with the support of a party that wants to break away. They were set to vote against Steve Harper in a vote of confidence scheduled for 8th December, but Harper was able to manipulate the situation and persuaded the Governor General to suspend Parliament until 26th January, when a new economic policy can be offered. This means Harper has been able to hold onto his job, when he was highly likely to have lost it on the Vote of confidence.Following this, the Liberals brought forward its change of leadership and Michael Ignatieff (of BBC and other cultural fame) was selected to head the party.
What the Canadian Press say:Canada's most popular paper, the Left-Leaning Toronto Star characterises the current situation as, "A super-smart, expat liberal academic versus a super-smart, fiercely partisan neo-con whose political instincts might be described as carnivorous", clearly looking forward to Ignatieff becoming a more heavyweight rival to the Prime Minister.
The conservative National Post, which was set up by Conrad Black, former owner of The Daily Telegraph and The Jerusalem Post, criticise Ignatieff's start as leader, calling him "Insolent and over-confident", but suggesting he could provide a more positive and competent leadership. They also focus on a new poll of Canadian voters which suggests that they want a compromise which keeps the Conservatives in power, rather than a Liberal takeover.
The centrist Globe & Mail, asks Canadian political insiders to assess the impact of Ignatieff's arrival on the scene, generally suggesting that he provides a more powerful counterbalance to the PM. They also assess who might take over from Harper if he is forced to resign.
The situation seems on a knife edge and it will be interesting to see what happens in January.
For Further info and to keep up to date with the situation take a look at:
