How exciting is the prospect of three elections within six months?
I was excited when my first chance to vote came around in the late 1980s but this opportunity is pushing my first election experience into second place on my list of political highlights.
Most people won't share my enthusiasm at the prospect of participating in a provincial election, a federal race and a local campaign so close to each other.
But, think about the potential political maneuvering, intrigue and suspense.
Elections are a celebration of democracy and I love participating in them at all levels so the thought of a three-peat is exciting.
Yes, it is true we participated in a federal election less than a year ago. It is also true that federal governments can't accomplish much of anything in one-year terms of office, but in light of what is coming out of the Gomery inquiry our Members of Parliament have to decide if it is better to carry on with this fractured minority government or to just end the pain and let the people from coast to coast to coast either turf Jean Chretien's leftover Liberals or give them a renewed mandate so Prime Minister Paul Martin gets another chance to prove whether or not he can drive the federal bus.
Martin can't govern effectively with what we know now about the sponsorship scandal. Enough Canadians are sufficiently disgruntled to warrant a vote so let's get on with it.
If the writ drops we can watch Paul Martin and the Liberals try to save their political careers. That to me would be far more exciting to watch than the upcoming season-ending episodes of hit shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Law and Order, CSI and American Idol.
If the Liberals are successful it will go down as one of the greatest election victories in Canadian history.
If Martin crashes the bus before it leaves the station it will mean the Prime Minister was not successful in ridding his party of the ghosts of the sponsorship scandal.
It will also mean Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP leader Jack Layton will all have a chance to become bigger players than they already are.
We won't have another chance to participate in three elections so close to each other for a long, long time so I'm going to vote yes to a federal election this summer, yes to single transferable ballots in B.C. and then hope we get a solid bunch of candidates in November.
I hope you will get out and vote with me on Tuesday to mark the beginning of what is shaping up to be political Triple Crown this year.
