Why Canadian prime minister calls early election

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, capital of Canada, Sept. 7, 2008.

Harper on Sunday announced that the 39th Parliament has been dissolved and

an election will be held on Oct. 14. (Chinese media/Yang Shilong)
Photo Gallery

by Zhao Qing, Yang Shilong

OTTAWA, Sept. 7 (Chinese media) -- Canadian Prime Minister

Stephen Harper announced Sunday that the 39th Parliament has been dissolved and

a general election will be held on Oct. 14.

Harper's minority Conservative government assumed

power in January 2006 following 12 straight years of Liberal rule. A parliament

legislation brought in by the Conservatives set the next election for October

2009. Harper chose to call an early election because he sees now as the best

time for his party to secure a fresh mandate, and possibly a long-coveted

majority government.

With only 127 seats in the 308-seat parliament and

other seats filled by three opposition parties, the Conservatives are liable to

being toppled at any time. Even if the prime minister had not called an early

election, it was unlikely that they would survive until 2009.

In fact for the past few months, the Conservatives

had expected to be taken down on several confidence votes. And what was crucial

to prompt Harper to make up his mind, is that the Liberals mused seriously all

summer about toppling the government after parliament resumes for its Autumn

session.

Rather than waiting for the opposition, Harper took

matters into his own hands so as to take control of the election timing to best

suit the end of his own party.

Economically, this is also the best time for the

Conservatives. Dragged by a slowdown in the U.S. economy and the high energy

cost, Canada's economy has been sluggish this year and may plunge into a

recession in 2009. An election campaign next year would be a nightmare for

Harper because crabby voters tend to blame the sitting government for the bad

economy and punish it by their ballots.

"Stephen Harper wants to rush into an election before

Canadians can realize how little he has done to prepare our country to deal with

the slowdown of the economy," said Stephane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, capital of Canada, Sept. 7, 2008.

Harper on Sunday announced that the 39th Parliament has been dissolved and

an election will be held on Oct. 14. (Chinese media/Yang Shilong)
Photo Gallery

Harper chose to launch the election campaign on Sept.

7 also because he wanted to avoid three by-elections scheduled on Sept. 8. The

Conservatives are very likely to lose in all three of them, further reducing

their lead in parliament over the Liberals, who hold 95 seats.

Lastly, experts pointed out that Harper also might

want to hold the votes before the U.S. presidential election in November, which

could put Democratic Barack Obama in the White House and encourage Canadian

voters to choose the Liberals, which are considered ideologically similar to the

Democrats.

Economy and leadership will take the center stage in

the conservative's election campaign. Depicting himself as a "strong leader",

Harper is not expected to promise major tax cuts and will vow to keep the budget

in surplus. He will also reiterate his determination to crack down on crime,

boost the military and strengthen sovereignty in the Arctic, among others.

Recent polls suggested that the coming election will

probably result in a minority Conservative government, who also stands the

chance of winning a majority.

Compared with the 28 percent public support for the

Liberals, the Conservatives have been put at 38 percent, close to the 40 percent

needed for a majority.

This will be Canada's third national ballot in four

years. Besides the Conservatives and the Liberals, the separatist Bloc Quebecois

occupied 48 seats, the New Democrats 30 and the Green Party one in the 39th

parliament. Three seats were held by independents, and four were vacant.