The fictionalization of the no-confidence vote

It's becoming clear that there are a bunch of closet political fiction writers over at the Globe and Mail, and it's frankly looking more like John Wells' "West Wing" than Aaron Sorkin's. This morning's second-tier headline: "MacKay pleaded with lover Stronach into wee hours". The article--i.e., NOT an editorial--also unironically and without quotation uses the phrases "made a confession that ripped out his heart," "pleaded with his ambitious colleague and lover" and (I am not making this up), "nurse his heavy heart." It also refers to his home in Nova Scotia as being located near "gentle rolling hills and a soaring pine forest under a blue sky." In addition, they also have a series of photographs outlining the key players in today's no-confidence vote, introducing them as if they were characters in a film, and one of the other headlines spells out "The plot thickens as critical vote looms."

There are pros and cons to having an election now, and there are pros and cons to having an election later. But either way the vote goes, today we're going to be in for some marvelous political theatre. So grab some popcorn, kick back, and enjoy. We'll worry about the practical repercussions of it tomorrow, but today is all about the action, suspense, mystery, and, yes, romance that is Parliament on May 19th, 2005.