Paul Martin was sworn in as the new Prime Minister today. This has the potential to be a very good thing... here are a few perhaps uncharacteristically optimistic thoughts on the matter.
The best a leader can do is inspire people to bring out the best in themselves. Accomplishing something is certainly one way to do that - actually paying attention to people and doing what you can to improve their situation. Martin has promised a lot more consultation, but at the same time he's had enough time to think about how he wants to see things happen. I think there'll be a real push to get a lot done very early. So he'll probably win both by listening to people and also by getting things done.
There's a lot of pent up energy there, both from his team and also the large number of new faces he's bringing in to cabinet (and the increasing involvement of more MP's, the whole democratic deficit thing). If they're determined to hit the ground running, again there's a good chance to really energize people with action and results.
With all the new faces, there's bound to be mistakes and I just hope we don't get caught up in them, that all the energy gets zapped into dealing with stuff that, while important, shouldn't derail the entire agenda (one plus side of having a weak opposition right now). The focus on more accountability and openness at least gives the opportunity to say "yes, we made a mistake, we're dealing with it, let's move on" unless it becomes an all too frequent pattern.
So hopefully those kind of political optics will stay on the backburner for a while. An upcoming election has the same chance of derailing things, though I think given the huge lead in popular opinion the Liberals have, there's the positive option of focusing on doing good work first, and the election campaign second. Fingers crossed here.
Ultimately, I think there's a good chance that through policies and practice we can continue to feel better and better about living here, even more proud to be Canadian. Particularly in contrast to the US, there's been a push towards policies that you can actually feel proud about (multilateral approach to world affairs, solid economic policies, same sex marriage, etc.). I don't think improving relations with the US necessarily means giving up those things; we can be strong but just more respectful about how we disagree.
Policy-wise, I hope we'll continue to travel in a left-leaning but fiscally responsible direction. Personally I'm expecting to see continued focus on innovation, learning, etc. But ultimately, I think most Canadians are happy with the balance of being prosperous, while at the same time contributing to a better society for everyone. It's one of those important things that makes this a better country to live in.
Change can have an energizing effect, and few would question the time for change is probably overdue here. While there's no way the extremely high expectations that people have for the Martin government can be fully met, I'm hopeful that the next few months and years will serve to invigorate the country even further.
