In last night’s election, the Conservative Party won the most votes, but Canada’s new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, did not win a clear majority.
The Conservatives have just over 120 of the 308 seats in the National Assembly, and only a careful count will determine whether they can reach the magic number of 155 and a majority with the help of the Social Democratic Party alone, which is expected to win more than 30 seats.
The two parties are not particularly close politically, but have a common interest in reforming the political culture of cronyism and corruption that the Liberal Party represents.
Stephen Harper still has to navigate choppy parliamentary waters and will have little room to pursue a purely conservative policy.
Johan Olav Koss’s ex re-elected
Canada’s most controversial politician, Belinda Stronach, was also re-elected. The former Mrs. Johan Olav Koss was the leader of the Conservative Party, but shocked the nation when last year, in the midst of a government crisis, she crossed the floor to the Liberals and saved Paul Martin’s government – and got a ministerial stool in return.
Her election campaign was followed with enormous interest by both hating former colleagues and new political friends. This time she ran as a Liberal candidate and lost the chance to remain a minister on the day the Conservatives won.
Published
24.01.2006, at 08:45
Update
24.01.2006, at 08:47
