post.election.post.

Well, we've got a new government. Exciting.
I had expected a Conservative Minority, but I had hoped that the NDP would carry the balance of power, holding them in check, preventing the gap between rich and poor from widening further. There was some really close races around the country. Locally, the rural vote got DelMastro over the top, but it was close, with the top three parties within some 4000 votes of each other.
My predictions on the new gov't:
The Liberal party will have some sort of leadership race within the next year, and choose a replacement for the Rt. Honourable Martin. Probably Ignatiaff, possibly Stronach (if she hasn't defected back to the conservatives in search of a cabinet post), and possibly Frank McKenna, our ambassador to the south. Then, they'll wait for 6 months or so, allowing the new leader to get some experience leading the party as her majesty's official opposition. Then, the Liberal party, together with the Bloc (in an attempt to appear to work with Quebecers and regain some faith from them), will take down the Conservatives and we'll be back to the polls. In the mean time, with the final Gomery report released, and all implicated will be long gone from the Liberal party (or any significant role in it), the Canadian public will forgive and forget the Liberal scandals. Harper will do a good job leading a minority gov't, and will do his best to keep Quebec happy so as to maintain the new inroads that he has gained in la belle province. He'll also do what he can with the NDP to work for the working families of our country. However, we'll all be back to the polls in a year and a half (May/early June 2007) voting in a slim liberal majority.
You heard it here.
That's my attempt at punditry. We'll see in a couple years how accurate this all is. Or possibly in a couple of months (...we'll see how inaccurate it is)