Interesting to muse what’s behind May’s decision

(Letter to the Editor, New Glasgow News, March 20, 2007)

One has to wonder about Elizabeth May, the Green Party of Canada leader, choosing to run in Central Nova in the pending federal election. Surely the motive is not to win, based on the meagre 1.5 per cent Green vote in Central Nova during the last federal election. So then just what may be going on here?

As reported by the CBC, it has been rumoured that the federal Liberals and Greens have been hunkered down in the back room discussing “ways to unseat the Conservatives in Central Nova.” A look at the Central Nova numbers from the last election offers the following, hypothetical scenario.

Based on the numbers from the last election, should any combination of votes taken from the Conservatives and NDP by the Greens equal 10 per cent, eg. three per cent and seven per cent respectively, while the Liberal vote is “encouraged” to hold pat, then that would put the Liberal candidate and Conservative Peter MacKay neck-and-neck at about 35 per cent. At that point, it becomes anyone’s ball game. So has a deal been struck in the back room allowing the Liberals to be realistic contenders in the riding while savouring the plum of possibly taking out the Minister of Foreign Affairs? And if yes, then what might the payback be for Ms. May for her role?

If I had a political imagination I would venture the guess that the payback is the Ministry of the Environment, should the Liberals come to office, once Ms. May makes the jump, that is. Based on this hypothetical scenario, I give it a year, maybe two.

With all due respect to Ms. May as an astute politician, I would venture the guess that she is wise enough to see that, if anything, the GPC will max out at some future time at a very optimistic 10 per cent and then begin to spin its wheels. Part of this wisdom may include acknowledgement that any hope of a Green political future rests at the decentralized regional level…just as Green philosophy has always meant it to be.

Now only if I had a political imagination would I be putting forward such outlandish thoughts.