There has been a great deal of talk about the state of democracy in Canada in recent months. Most Canadians are very dissatisfied by the state of affairs in Ottawa but very few seem to want an election, unwilling to replace one dysfunctional government with another or to risk the fact that a party with 40% support could form a majority.
In an article just published in the Canadian Journal of Opinion - Inroads Dr. Henry Milner argues that Canada has replaced Italy as the prime example of unstable and ineffective political institutions.
He says, "Political science undergraduates used to learn about Italy as the model of dysfunctional political institutions, characterized by frequent elections and constant uncertainty under minority governments at the mercy of shifting political alliances. Italy transformed its electoral institutions in the 1990s, and while hardly perfect now – as the antics of Signor Berlusconi demonstrate – it has lost its place as model of dysfunctionality among stable democracies to, of all countries, Canada.
Dr. Milner is one of Canada’s leading academic authorities on electoral systems. The complete article is available here.
This all begs the question, "Why aren't we talking about electoral reform?"
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