… has snared another victim.
That’s not to say that he’s wrong, of course. In fact, he’s probably right, if only because he has managed thus far to stay clear of the will-he-or-won’t-he-or-will-that-other-guy-do-it-first-and-wait-what-did-I-say-last-time tangle of bluffs and counterbluffs and counting backwards from every Monday in October. ITQ, however, has made a conscious decision to be a Conscientious Objector. As of now, we’re on the wagon – no more election speculation. We’re teetotalling it from here on in – not only will it save us from the stress of viewing everything that happens through an electoral prism, but when the writ finally does drop, it will be a surprise. We love surprises.
Plus, there’s something about the whole guessing game that reminds us of those few fragments of chaos theory that we picked up from Jurassic Park (hey, at least we’re honest about the provenance of our scientific knowledge): It is, for the most part, impossible to predict the immediate political future more than four or five days in advance. There are just too many variables out there, too many unknown elements — an eleventh hour floor-crossing, a Christmas eve fax from the RCMP, a press release accusing your opponents of supporting child pornography.
It could be that, at this exact moment, the Prime Minister’s mind is, in fact, made up: He’s going to the polls, no ifs ands or buts about it. That doesn’t mean he’ll feel the same way tomorrow, or a week for tomorrow, or a month from tomorrow, or … anyway, you get the idea. Until he’s heading up the driveway to Rideau Hall, there’s always the chance that circumstances could shift, and what seemed like a sure thing is suddenly, emphatically not. The same goes for Stephane Dion, of course – until he walks into the chamber and gives the signal to his troops, we don’t know – and even he may not know for sure – if he’s really ready to vote down the government, come what may.
That’s what makes it so fascinating, of course — and so addictive. Like the best of serial television, you just want to see how it all turns out.