Weighing options

Being an absentee voter has it challenges. Being so far away, I'm limited to the Web in deciding who to vote for. Without the benefit of television, I'm having a difficult time gauging the sincerity of the candidates by the way they speak, their facial expressions, body language and other visual clues. Similarly, without hearing their voices on radio, it's difficult to get a sense of their intellect and conviction. And, without a range of choice in newspapers and magazines, it's hard to track the ongoing debates and opposing perspectives of all the different voices contesting the issues. But perhaps the biggest liability in casting an absentee ballot is the lack of opportunity to engage my friends and neighbours about the election campaign.

My limited number of Canadian friends here in Johannesburg, South Africa, seem a bit indifferent to the election campaign. It may be that we're all a bit exhausted following the recent South African election only a few weeks ago or too far removed physically and psychically from Canada to get excited. But whatever the case, the process of voting for me, informed exclusively as it is by the Web, has been a solitary exercise that feels somewhat detached and inorganic. At least Elections Canada was highly efficient in mailing me my absentee ballot from Canada to South Africa in only a week.

Following the week's developments on the campaign trail on-line, I'm left with the distinct impression that the election is beginning to coalesce around a couple of negative themes: Punishing Paul Martin and the Liberals for the sponsorship scandal, keeping Stephen Harper's radical conservative Christian agenda on the margins of Western Canada or preventing Jack Layton's socialist fantasies from bankrupting the country. Doing all three seems like the best thing to do. The question is how and is a minority government possibly the best way to do it.

For me, this election is about voting for the most progressive and fiscally responsible party leader or to vote strategically toward achieving that result in a minority government situation. This automatically rules out voting for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. I find the combination of Christian fundamentalism and social conservatism deeply unsettling and vaguely threatening. On issues such as abortion, immigration, employment equity and gay marriage, I simply don't accept conservative ideology, rooted as it is in radical notions of individuality. I conceive of my Canada in more communal terms based on notions of social responsibility, shared sense of community, inclusiveness, tolerance and compassion. I also find the Western roots of the party's leadership and membership a bit alienating. Being Korean-Canadian and having grown up in multi-racial Toronto, I don't feel in any way represented by a party that is less than reflective of the Canada I know.

My decision among the alternatives on the centre-left of the political spectrum will be based on both principles and strategy. My vote will most likely go to either the Liberals or the NDP, depending on how progressive a majority Liberal government is committed to being or how necessary an NDP minority government partner is required to force the Liberals further to the left or how big a threat the Conservatives pose. While the campaigns of the party leaders are important, my final vote will depend in large part on the dynamics of the local riding in which I'm obliged to vote.

In the end, what it will come down to is whether Paul Martin and the Liberals can convince me of their integrity following the sponsorship scandal and whether they can be trusted to fulfill the promises they are making on the campaign trail on social issues they seem to be making in an effort to squeeze out the NDP from the centre-left of the political spectrum.

In the past week, the Liberals have been addressing many of my concerns and priorities by announcing and committing to a number of progressive initiatives around HIV/AIDS, international development, foreign debt relief, childcare, cities and First Nations. On a policy level, these are exactly the issues that I would support, but I'm not entirely convinced that that the Liberals can be trusted to follow through. Similar promises made in the past, such as the creation of a National Daycare Program, have not been followed through with. And, the stench of the sponsorship scandal continues to linger and I don't think enough has been done to investigate it and to hold those responsible accountable.

If the Liberals could be trusted, then a majority government would, of course, make them more effective in implementing their campaign promises. But, if they're not trustworthy, then a minority government scenario with the NDP would be more effective in pushing progressive policies forward on a case by case basis. Up to this point, I haven't been convinced either way.

But in the final calculation, my fear of a resurgent Conservative movement is much greater than my distrust of the Liberals, which means that I would strategically vote for the Liberals over the NDP if the Conservative threat were imminent. And, so, I wait to see how the fortunes of the various parties fare over the course of the next few weeks and to see which of my fears and hopes come true to help me guide my ballot selection.