I wasn't Conservative, and still am not Conservative. However, we can say that I tend towards the moderate left overall, but quite Conservative on the economic and moral fronts but quite progressive on the international front. In fact, on one election years ago, I was debating between the Reform party (free trade) and the NDP (international relations, education). I wasn't even looking at the liberals (not far enough on free trade and not far enough on international relations, just mainstream mediocrity on both fronts).
And last election, I was tempted to vote Green (socially progressive and economically conservative, with a strong international outlook). I still wasn't satisfied, so I handed a blank ballot at the last minute, but the Green Canadidate came closest to the mix I was looking for.
Now after the election, I was actually happy to hear the Conservatives propose cuts to parties and mention nothing about the auto industry, though I wouldn't have minded seeing more money in education.
Unfortunately, no mention of education, and the NDP and Liberals are more interested in porkbarelling the auto industry than improving education.
This is why I think it's time for a purging on the left like the right had gone through a few years back. The Green party is a good start (like I mentioned before, a kind of 'Reform Party' experiment), but unless the Greens can transform themselves a little more, I think a 'Canadian Alliance' of the left is still to come. And who knows, eventually a new merging with the traditional left wing parties like what happened to the Conservatives? Of course the left doesn't need to follow the right's history verbatim, but it gives some idea of where things might have to go to revive the left.
