星期一 [ 2010-5-17 11:24:16 | banana2010 ]   Column Polling data a problem Part two of Kerry Nation, which started in Saturday's Brandon Sun replica hublot watches Any NDPer these days should be extremely concerned about Thursday's Angus Reid poll showing the Tories leading province-wide by a margin of 44 per cent to 37 per cent, with an overwhelming strength in rural Manitoba and a closing gap in Winnipeg. On Wednesday, a national poll was released - Premier Greg Selinger's popularity in Manitoba is at a minuscule 27 per cent (and falling) with 45 per cent being undecided. As former Premier Doer traditionally enjoyed 60 per cent-plus popularity, this must be awfully worrisome for NDPers. Selinger, though well-educated and accomplished, is not Gary Doer. He's not charming, fun or even particularly likable. He's the Paul Martin of Manitoba politics - just another grey, dour politician lacking in personality, not unlike Howard Pawley. If that's not the kiss of death, then what is? Selinger was a solid second-in-command to Doer, but does he have what it takes to keep the top job? We shouldn't place all the blame for the NDP's weak poll results on Selinger. If there's a common narrative theme in Manitoba politics, it's that we elect a government, stick with them for a couple of terms, then get frustrated and throw the bums out. Sometimes, but not always, there's a little scandal involved. Often it's an accumulation of errors and poor judgment that bring down a government. In the case of this government, the threatened public employee pay freeze, the blight of runaway crime in urban areas, the Brian Sinclair death-in-a-wheelchair health-care scandal, the Hydro Bipole III debate and the massive government debt look like it could be a perfect storm of negative news. Most troubling to me is the growing debt. The government can play all sorts of tricks including fleecing Hydro, but the sad reality is there's always a day of reckoning. When federal transfer payments get cut, and they will sooner than later, we're in big trouble. Unless we deal with this surging debt right now, I fear our quality of life is in jeopardy, and even more so for our children than ourselves. To finance our lifestyles, when faced with transfer payment cuts, we'll be forced to make tough decisions. Do we reduce our expensive lifestyle by slashing government spending? Do we increase taxes and, in doing so, make Manitoba less attractive for current and prospective residents alike? We can't live on borrowed money forever. Every credit card has a spending limit. Perhaps most significant is the sentiment that people are tired and want a change. Governments lose elections - opposition parties rarely win them. The NDP missed out on refreshing itself during the leadership debate and hasn't come forward with new ideas. People get tired wholesale sexy lingerie of the "same old same old" and desire change. This is a difficult attitude to overcome. It is what happened to Gary Filmon in 1999, and could happen to the Selinger government in the next provincial election. Other articles: http://www.oursave.com/blog.asp?Uid=mywatches&id=394 http://www.gztrust.com/bbs/Blog.asp?BlogUserName=mywatche&menu=ShowBlog&BlogID=1625 浏览(148) | 回复(0) |