Demand better

One has to wonder about the short-term future of the Ontario Liberal Party when so far more people are steering clear of the race to succeed Dalton McGuinty as premier than rushing to toss their hats in the ring.
But despite the mounting scandals and the audacious move to put Queen’s Park on ice for several months, it remains to be seen if voters will punish the governing Liberals when Ontarians likely return to the polls in the spring.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper once prorogued Parliament when his minority government faced certain defeat. The federal Tories later were found to be in contempt of Parliament, which triggered the last federal election. But rather than being turfed out, Canadians rewarded them with a majority mandate.
No doubt the provincial Liberals are hoping for similar quick forgiveness.
Impossible, you say? Well, 56 percent of the 282 responses to a Times’ web poll two weeks ago did list “outrage” as their reaction to the decision to prorogue the Legislature—with only 11 percent offering either “full” or “tepid” support. What was troubling, however, is that 33 percent of respondents—fully one-third—answered “don’t care.”
Talk about a stinging indictment of the current state of our political system.
Voters should be demanding better of our politicians and parties; instead we’re tuning out. Sadly, far too many of us just don’t care—and certainly can’t be bothered to even vote anymore.
But while it’s easy to blame voter apathy on the antics of parties and politicians, where’s the incentive for them to change if we aren’t willing to hold them accountable for their policies and decisions?
Frankly, if we don’t care, neither will they.