That's awesome, Kathy.

(Did I use that phrase right? "Taking the piss" = "Making a joke," yeah?)

Yes. But the connotation is also like, making a joke, and giving the business to the jokee.

Yeah! That's what I meant -- making a joke that pokes some fun at the pokee. And I think that someone telling a humorless dogmatic evangelical Christian that Batman can beat up Jesus definitely qualifies as taking the piss.

So, talk to me like I'm stupid: is there any hope in the NDP's relative success?

Well, most of their gains are in Quebec. I don't quite know what was happening in Quebec, but it was definitely a refutation of the Bloc Quebecois (the status quo) and a rejection of the Tories and Liberals (the same old thing). It's extraordinary, because the NDP have never had any traction in Quebec before this. But it also means that they are bringing a largely rookie team of MPs to Ottawa, some are still in university. So, they'll need get their act together. Quebec electorate are notorious for reacting very strongly at the ballot box to unrealized expectations.

But how they react next time may rely on a couple of things:

1)If the Bloc recovers. They've retained only three seats, which means they lose official party status (and funding). They are left leaning, like the NDP, but primarily run on a separatist platform. I don't know what kind of appetite there is in Quebec for separatism anymore, it generally seems to be in decline.

2) It may also depend on what happens with the Conservative majority. They've been operating as a minority gov't until now, and haven't been able to put their own platform forward as they've liked. If they try to move the country too far right too fast, I don't think they will regain support in Quebec. If they remain relatively centrist, they could gain traction.

3) The fate of the Liberal party. They've been almost wiped out, and will have to stage a comeback. Already on election night there was talk of merger with the NDP. That might be a step too far for some Liberals. (Despite their name, they're a centrist party.) A lot of people are saying that the great hope for the Liberals is Justin Trudeau, so of Pierre Trudeau. If he were to become the federal leader, they may pick up support in Quebec (they love a French speaking leader).

4) How the NDP do as official opposition. It will be interesting to see what the battles will be like between the Tories and the NDP. With a majority, the Tories can push things through, but the NSP may have a chance to soften or slow any shifts to the right. But if all the new blood makes them a hot mess, they could be out as quickly as they were in.

Ontario is naturally Conservative, but more fiscally than socially. They elected an provincial NDP government in 1990 which was a disaster. It sent them back to the right and except for urban pockets, have remained there. I think it may take another decade or two to make them forget the Bob Rae NDP gov't.

The West is an area where the NDP had traditionally more support, but though there are some pockets, it's largely conservative country. I can't see it shifting back at any time, barring a MAJOR ecological disaster in the oilfields.

BC shifts back and forth between conservative and NDP, with urban tending left and rural tending right.

The East is not a natural NDP spot, but they've slowly picked up some seats over the years and kept them because they've representatives smart, active representatives. It's an area that is naturally more social conservative and fiscally liberal.

A lot of people are saying that the great hope for the Liberals is Justin Trudeau, so of Pierre Trudeau. If he were to become the federal leader, they may pick up support in Quebec (they love a French speaking leader).

Plus he's SMOKIN'. I mean, seriously.

Picture?

Ha, I already learned from my (francophone) Canadian cousins on Facebook of the hotness of Justin Trudeau. Things One Learns In Foreign Elections.

Edit, sumi, just image-google.

Justin: [link]

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Oh my.

Still: Sorry, Canada!

The thing about Justin is that he is battling a rep as a dilettante, riding on his Papa's cottails. I think he is kind of redeeming himself as an MP, but there are still wide swaths of the country (Hello Western Canada!) who still hate his father.

That is a very pretty man. yeeps.