How MMP will encourage respect
by Giuseppe Gori

We mentioned elsewhere that the current system is confrontational. The requirement to win, both at the local riding level and as a total number of seats, is so strong that people hardly refrain from personal attacks.

I have participated to many candidate debates, an the biggest attrition has always been, obviously, among the top contenders.

Conversely, in most cases, there is a great spirit of respect among independents and candidates of smaller parties. I can mention, for example, that I became a good friend of Robert Ede, who run for the Green Party, "against" me in York Centre. 

The reason is obvious. We were not running "to win at all costs". Our reputation was not on the line. We had not invested over a hundred thousand dollars, as the two main contenders had. I admired his clearly unique ideas and his superior intelligence.

With the new system, a somewhat less pronounced attrition will remain among local candidates. Only "real contenders" and independents will run in local ridings.

However, a lot of party list candidates will have no reason or opportunity to confront each other in a winner/looser situation. Candidates will confront each other in media debates, but they will all survive. They may lose a debate, but, if they did a good job at representing the party, they will not lose the support of their party members. Thus, the stress will be on "content" more than on "TV appearance" or "who won".

It will not be different form regular debates that happen on TV stations among leaders of organizations and politicians in between elections.

I believe this will foster a climate of respect among different party representatives in our pluralistic society.

Again, I must warn against total reliance on the system. No matter what the system is, nothing can substitute for morality, personal character and responsibility.

Elections are only as good as the people who participate in them. Our founders understood and explained this concept, but it is one we obviously must relearn in the 21st century. Only a moral people are capable of self-government.

Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany through elections. That didn't make him a legitimate leader. Instead, his election was an indictment of the morality of the German people at that time in history.

Likewise, Hamas' electoral victories last year don't make these terrorists politically legitimate. They are an indictment of the morality of the Arabs living in Gaza and the West Bank.

One argument of conservative people who oppose change in the electoral system is: "Let's not make Ontario more representative, as the people cannot govern themselves". The assumption is that conservatives in Ontario are more moral than the average citizen. Looking at the recent and present conservative leaders, we have to disagree.

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