I had the most excellent dinner this evening. In my freezer I have been saving a 2-parts homemade pasta sauce to 1-part Catelli meat sauce from a can mixture, waiting for the perfect night. Tonight, I thawed it all out and made myself the best lasagna I have made in a long time. I added a little more cheese than normal for good measure, and it was worth it. It all came together in a wonderful flavor sensation. While it was baking (The drawback to no-boil noodles is the 50 minute baking time!!!!), I gave my little apartment a much-overdue cleanup.

While enjoying my home baked dinner, I visited the CBC News website to check out the results of the provincial election back home in Nova Scotia. I was most distressed, though not surprised, to see that there will be yet another minority government in the province. Though minority governments have their advocates, I personally feel that in the long run (and I think this is three in a row in NS), minority governments end up being highly ineffective as policies and programs get watered down in order to appeal to whomever holds the balance of power.

In Canada we can see this happening on the national level as well. It seems like it has been forever since anything meaningful happened in Ottawa. Why is it that we, the electorate, cannot give a single party a majority to run the country as it is meant to be run? I think the current problem is lack of credible leadership.

When I think back to the last federal election, my most prominent memory from the campaign was the televised leadership debate. The leaders of our four major parties seemed more like a bunch of school children arguing on the playground. None of them struck me as capable of leading a nation as prominent as Canada, or a nation of any sort for that matter. I think my disillusionment was shared by many of my fellow Canadians, and the results were what we saw on election day, another useless minority government. My disillusionment was so great I didn’t cast my vote for any of the four buffoons.

This leads me to my next worry. Here in Alberta, Ralph Klein will be stepping down as Premier and leader of the PC party in the fall. Despite his lack of tact, personal problems, redneck agenda, and arrogance, it cannot be disputed that he has lead the province excellently for the past decade and a bit. Now, as he steps down, there really is no leader in the running for his post. Though I don’t think the PC Party in Alberta needs to worry too much about not forming a majority in the next provincial election, poor leadership could land us in the same spot as Nova Scotia and Canada if they are not careful.

All of this makes me wonder what has happened to the flamboyant and charismatic leaders of the past? Why are we experiencing such poor leadership at all levels of government in this country? Where is the next Trudeau? Where is the next Lastman? Agree or disagree with what they did, they were true leaders.

I am concerned that maybe the true leaders have now decided to focus their talents on the more lucrative private sector. CEO salaries have skyrocketed over the past decade, and perhaps the allure of money is distracting leaders from getting involved in politics. It is also possible that with the current state of world affairs, people are shying away from public office for fear of having to deal with the very real threat of a national crisis.

Whatever the reason, someone will soon need to step up and get things moving forward at all levels in this country if we hope to make any progress. Don’t make me do it myself.