Main party leader predicts another minority government in Canada

As the first half of Canada's election campaign drew to the end, the leader of one of the four major parties is predicting that Canadians are in for another minority government, but one that will last longer than the last one.

Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe did not say whether he believed it would be Paul Martin's Liberals or Stephen Harper's Conservatives at the helm. But he believed that either could do well if they avoid being "arrogant," Canadian Press reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, a new poll suggested that Canadians believe that the Liberals have run the best campaign than any other party and as high as 36 percent say they will vote for the Liberals if the election is held now.

In the polls which was done by Strategic Counsel on Dec. 21-22, only 29 percent say they would vote for the conservatives, with 17 percent for the New Democratic Party (NDP) and 13 percent for Bloc Quebecois.

Since the campaign kicked off on Nov. 29, the Liberals have averaged about 34 to 35 percent support in Strategic Counsel polls, dipping to a low of 33 and reaching a high of 36 percent.

The Tories have averaged about 29 percent support, with their lowest number being 28 and reaching a high of 31 percent.

A 40 percent supporting rate is considered to be the minimum required for a majority victory.

Duceppe said that if the Liberals are re-elected on Jan. 23 he would have to recognize their "moral authority" to govern. "Unless other things come up, which they've hidden from us," he said, referring to the sponsorship scandal.

The Liberals were toppled in a motion of non-confidence on Nov. 28 by a united effort of three opposition parties following a report that said kickbacks from government sponsorship contracts were used to illegally finance some Liberal election campaigns.

The opposition parties charged that Paul Martin's minority government, which had been in power for 17 months, had lost the " moral authority" to govern.

Source: Xinhua