I was able to catch a few bits, here and there, on Newsnet (my French isn’t as good as it should be), and I can come to a few conclusions:

• No “knockout blows” or game-changer moments. So I don’t expect much significant movement in the polls, not at least until the English-language debate is over.
• If you want to declare anyone a clear winner (because there wasn’t one by the normal “rules” of the debate), it would have to be Elizabeth May. I don’t believe anyone ever mentioned that she was bilingual, at a better level that Preston Manning ever was, and that’s probably a surprise to most Canadians. In that sense, she probably did help Green Party exposure in Quebec, as well as parts of New Brunswick. That exposure was definitely a big help to her, more so than tonight’s English-language debate.
• You can give kudos to CTV Newsnet for trying for simultaneous translation in English with one translator each per party leader, but the execution left something to be desired. To be fair, it’s difficult when you’re not working with a prepared script, but it’s hard to tell if the aural hesitations, hems and haws are the translator trying to find the right word, or a natural pause on the part of the speaker.
• Watching Harper speaking, I was somehow reminded of Pierre Trudeau. That could be because of his imperturbability, and the timbre of the translator’s voice, but this was a man in control of himself, in much the same way that Trudeau was. He might take a dip in the polls due to the ferocity of the 4-on-1 attack, but it won’t be a serious one.
• Dion, at least, didn’t make things worse for the Liberals. In that sense, and in that sense alone, he could be said to have accomplished his goals; however, he wasn’t able to demonstrate better leadership qualities than Harper this time out, and that’s what he still needs to do. Which means he needs to do better than break-even in tonight’s debate.
• Let’s get something clear here: so long as the party continues to speak for Quebec interests, there will always be a Bloc Québécois. It doesn’t matter if sovereignty is on the table or not; Quebec culture, societal or political, is significantly different enough from that of English Canada that a regional party of the Bloc’s ilk can be justified to exist at the national level. Gilles Duceppe’s performance was standard, but enough to ensure that the Bloc won’t fade away this election.
• If Harper reminded me of Pierre Trudeau, then Jack Layton’s performance reminded me of Brian Mulroney, though not quite as animated. You get the sense of self-confidence, the sense of self-control, that Mulroney had when relaxed and not under pressure.

Ought to be an interesting debate tonight, don’tcha think?

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 08:40 and is filed under Election 2008, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.