Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Historic collapse of the Bloc Quebecois in the federal election

"We were expecting a good score, New Democratic Party (NDP), but certainly not as much. Voters separatists and separatist dropped the Bloc Quebecois. This is history. This is the first time in 100 years that it breaks down this way, "surprised Denis Saint-Martin, a political scientist and lecturer at the University of Montreal.For him, "is a vote against the system, a rejection of the elites and not the sign of a turning socialist." According to Francois Bergeron, associate publisher and editor of the French-language weekly "L'Express de Toronto," the analysis applies to the rest of Canada, predominantly in English: "This is a protest vote against the federal policy in general. "

The NDP, the party left most represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament, took over three-quarters of the seats reserved in the Belle Province in the Federal Parliament. He finds himself with 60 of the 75 seats. "This wave NDP is a bit surreal.People have been elected without being known - and sometimes even without having visited the constituency they covet - in the face of elected Bloc well known, "Francois Bergeron surprised.

"A party that has no roots in Quebec"

According to commentators, the personality of its leader, Jack Layton, has much to do. He is a child of the province, he grew up in Quebec.He is suffering from cancer and some analysts believe it could play its positive image.

But Denis Saint-Martin doubt that the party is able to meet the aspirations of French-speaking province of identity: "It's a party that has no roots in Quebec on the historic plan. I think that the hopes of Quebeckers are likely to be disappointed. " He explains that "the political weight of the training was in Quebec while the bodies of the party are not in the province." The bastion of NDP, which is also the constituency of Jack Layton, Toronto happens to be.

Stephen Harper, the Conservative Prime Minister in power since 2006, is the winner of the poll.Now have a comfortable majority that had escaped the previous two elections, "he is free to do what he wants," Francois Bergeron analysis. "One of the first things he will do is raise the budget recently rejected by the previous majority."

The Bloc Quebecois, loser of the election

The Bloc Quebecois, it retains only 4 of the 47 seats it had in the outgoing parliament - in place since 2008. Given the low number of elected, he will lose official party status in the House of Commons and find private funding to training in the majority.In addition, Stephen Harper announced Monday he would end the public subsidies for political parties (independent of election results), which should further reduce its resources.

Still, for Denis Saint-Martin, "those who think that these results are indicative of the end of the independence movement, they are wrong. It is a sleeping giant. The dream of an independent Quebec is more than ever there . Some voters saw the NDP as the last chance, but if the NDP fails to convince, it will be very supportive of separatists. "