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January Elections for Canada

The Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin, announced this week that general elections will be held in the country on January 23. His minority Liberal Party government was ousted by the opposition in a no-confidence vote by 171 votes to 133, prompting the call for new elections. Martin advised Canada`s head of state, Governor General Michaelle Jean, to dissolve Parliament.

New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton withdrew his support for the Liberals soon after the release of a damning preliminary report on a scandal in November. It will be the first time in decades an election will be held during the Christmas holidays. The campaign is expected to be the most celebrated, if not hard-hitting, in Canadian history.

In a way, it reflects the utter instability of parliamentary politics. Just last week, Israel`s prime minister Ariel Sharon broke off from the Likud Party, which he helped found, declared the formation of a new party, and now it looks like elections will be held on the 28th of March, 2006, when just months ago Israel finished up a dramatic and historic pullout from the Gaza Strip.