Throwing My Hat in the Ring for the Federal Election

Hmmm, are you ready for
a fresh, new face in Canadian politics?

It is official now. We
will be going to the polls here in Canada on October 21st to decide
who will be representing us for the next four years. Election signs are popping
up on front lawns. The rhetoric from the party leaders is already into
overdrive.

Once again I find myself
struggling to decide who I dislike the least so I can cast my ballot. Alas, it
seems I dislike all the options equally. There seems to be no choice for me but
to form my own party, declare myself its leader and enter the race.

I will be representing
the all-new and long overdue Metaphor
Party.

You will want to know
where the Metaphor Party falls on the
political spectrum. Does it lean to the left or the right? This will be
dictated by the direction that the wind blows. When the wind blows from the
east, we will lean to the left. When it blows from the west, we will lean to
the right. If it blows from the north of the south, those will be wild card
days.

Flexibility will be the
hallmark of our economic policy. We are in favour of paying down the deficit
and lowering taxes. We are opposed to cost cutting and to cost increases. The
purse strings need to be tied tightly, but loose enough for easy access.

It is our belief that
financial management is all about the pluses and the minuses and how you play
one against the other. Don’t worry if that seems counterintuitive. It is simply
a matter of moving the money around strategically and never leaving it in one
place for too long.

Our foreign policy is
unequivocally foreign, but carefully balanced from a domestic perspective. We
believe Canada must be a player in all foreign affairs, skillfully playing both
ends against the middle without getting caught in the crossfire or firing
across anyone’s bow.

Environmental issues are
close to our heart without being top of mind. We will judiciously fund
environmental programs, when the occasion calls for it, on a cost-sharing basis
to be negotiated when appropriate with impartial organizations to be named at a
later date.

We believe that
governments must keep their hands off private sector affairs and let the chips
fall where they may – unless the chips fall in a way or in a place that is not
in the public interest, in which case we will unilaterally intervene in a fair
and arbitrary fashion.

Transparency is a
fundamental principle of our approach to government. All our decisions will be
made in full public view. Specific details of these decisions, of course, will
from time to time need to remain confidential including any conflicts of
interest that may or may not occur.

If we make a mistake, we
will own up to it as soon as we identify a suitable scapegoat.

In the final analysis,
we believe that governing a great nation like Canada is about walking a fine
line without falling off the tightrope. Not falling off the tightrope means
never stretching it too tight in the first place. What better party to do that
than the Metaphor Party?

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go
Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing
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