2011 - It's Election Fever! (really?)

2011 promises to be quite a year if you follow elections.

In Ontario, voters may go to the polls twice this year...once for a federal election which some say will occur in the early Spring, and again in early Fall as the provincial election takes place October 06.

So what will the year bring?

Ontario voters will be subjected to months of federal-provincial posturing, and partisan snipes from the war rooms of each party.

If Canada does go to the polls in a national election in March/April, the reigning government , the masters of mud-slinging, will pull out all the stops to win the elusive majority. Anything less than a majority would be a loss for Mr. Harper and would set in motion his demise as Conservative Leader. So count on this one getting dirty early in the game.
And if Ontario denies him that majority watch for a lingering bitterness that could influence the fall Ontario elections.

We do know that Ontario will be voting October 06. The Premier will be defending his record while Mr. Hudak tries to de-throne him. Hudak has held back his platform, choosing to oppose by trying to perfect the sound bite and chip away at the Liberal Premier. Of interest is how the public will take to Andrea Horwath - both she and Hudak were elected at their respective Party conventions in 2009, so both are still "new" to the general public. If Horwath gains some popularity, she could assist in carving off support for the Libs and hand the election to Hudak and the Conservatives.

One has to wonder how the Ford factor will play in the GTA. Over the next few months the public will be watching and waiting to see how Ford handles the City...If he does well, will that result in Conservative support? At what level...federal?...provincial?...both?
Or will it be a race amongst the leaders to cast them in the Ford image as one who will cut waste?

Or...Is it possible that by October, the economy will have improved, and voters anger will have dissipated? Is it possible that the electorate will carefully evaluate the choices and platforms and vote for something rather than against something?

I suppose another option is that voters could be so election weary by October (assuming a federal election takes place) that they stay home to watch sports or wash the dog...

It all promises to be an interesting year...so stay tuned as the rhetoric heats up and the campaign buses start their engines.