The early birds
France’s president, Jacques Chirac, like Canada’s prime minister, Jean ChrŽtien, has called an early election for this spring. In France’s case, it comes 11 months before a vote would have been required. Canada’s comes 17 months before the October 1998 deadline.
Chirac says he wants “a majority with the strength and longevity to meet today’s challenges.” ChrŽtien sings a somewhat similar song.
Opposition parties and journalists will make much of opportunism, of springing the vote at a time of favorable polls. There may be some of that but I suspect, in Canada’s case, political bragging rights loom large.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
The Liberal regime of Wilfrid Laurier was in power in 1900. The Liberals obviously hope they will also be in the saddle for the dawn of the year 2000.
There is a great deal of goodwill that can be engendered by a big national celebration marking the end of one century and the beginning of the next.
In France a big issue will be the plan for Europe to adopt a single currency, a proposal that Chirac supports. Now that Britain has switched to a Labor government, Chirac is hoping a single currency might encounter fewer roadblocks. However, it won’t be easy. Switching to a common currency is meeting the same sort of opposition as we got in Canada over the switch to the metric system.
In our election Canadians will consider who can best keep our next generation employed and our confederation ravelled.
Early birding can be perilous. We’ll know how perilous for both ChrŽtien and Chirac by the first week in June. Will they get the worm or the bird?
