The Pros and Cons of a Coalition

I find it extremely interesting the reaction of Canadians over the past few days about the possibility of a Coalition Government. At first I was thrilled but then got a little worried because (and I hate to admit this) the Conservative PR machine kinda worked. The I talked myself out of the tree and am ready for the possible Liberal/NDP Coalition. Let's way the Cons first, then I will examine why this is actually a good thing.

Cons:

• Giving the Bloc Quebecois power over monetary decisions in the rest of Canada
• Having a Pointless PM for four months
• Not being able to elect the leader of the Coalition who will be in power for 1 year
• The likes of Jacques Parizeau giving you his support

and now, the Pros:

• A regime change within the Conservative Party, hopefully towards a more Progressive Conservative stance on numerous issues
• An economic stimulus package which does not have a bias towards Western Canada (Yay regionalism!)
• The fact that the best ideas we've had in Canada (see Universal Health Care) have been established in a Liberal minority regime supported by the NDP
• The fact that the major economic advisors are people who can get us out of this mess: Paul Martin, Roy Romano, and Frank McKenna
• A government that will compromise

Quite possibly the biggest fact coming out of this coalition is that this is precisely the type of event that would push people towards a Proportional Representation system. The Conservatives now see the inflated power that has been given to the BQ through the current parliamentary system. Could we actually see an electoral system for the 21st century coming along with our new economy?