My condolences if you are feeling at little election fatigued already.
With the provincial election still a good four months away, you may already be fed up with it.
By now, it's quite possible that you've already had candidates knocking on your door in the hopes or winning your vote. (That you might have long ago made up your mind offers little reprieve. If the political party of your choice knows you're committed, you've likely already been hit up by now for political donations or lawn signs.)
But even if you haven't been personally solicited yet, you still may feel like you're in the middle of a campaign. Parties are already starting to run ads. And in the case of that NDP radio ad we discussed in this space last week, the ads are nasty and even misleading and fabricated. This does not bode well for a pleasant campaign.
Moreover, it's not just the political parties getting in on the act. We are now seeing the unions and business community-Chambers of Commerce squaring off with their thinly veiled political ads in support of the NDP and Saskatchewan Party, respectively.
And that we have known for some time that Nov. 7 is going to be the election date is being partly blamed for what will be a very long election campaign.
One of the downsides of set election dates is clearly that. Without officially extending Saskatchewan's 28-day to 34-day writ period, it pretty much accomplishes the same thing by offering a target in which the parties can now aim. Part of that strategy is now the slow building of momentum, meaning that this campaign has started much earlier.
Another downside of a regimented date every four years is that it may even effect public policy by causing the governing parties to hold back spending until the year or final months before a campaign in the hopes of buying votes with taxpayers' own money. Similarly, it offers a target for oppositions in which they hold back legitimate criticism of government until they can most conveniently capitalize.
But all this said, set election dates might still be better than the old guessing game of when the election date will be.
For starters, having no specific set election date always gave governments a hideous advantage in that governments could manipulate government spending to their advantage or call an election slightly earlier or later to take advantage of ebbs and flows in the economy.
Premier Brad Wall becomes the first Saskatchewan Premier to forego this advantage. And in fairness to his Sask. Party government, his last budget didn't exactly go on a wild tax-cutting/spending spree to leave one final positive impression with voters. Add to the fact that Sask. Party government's set election date legislation also puts limits on government spending in the lead up to election and it makes for a better system.
As for those campaigning on your doorstep or blitzing you with radio ads, it's likely better for them as well.
Candidates making the huge commitment of running for public life can more easily plan their entry into politics, which has to be a good thing for the process. Volunteers can more efficiently schedule their time, making this far more democratic. This should make things slightly more civil and perhaps even attract better candidates.
And whether it's the parties themselves or their supporters spending money on advertising before the writ, that went on before anyway. At least this way, they can be more cost-effective. Similarly, past political advertising was also nasty, so getting some of the nastiness out of the way early may not for be such a bad thing. It might even result in better debate.
Yes, it makes for a longer campaign. But, hopefully, it will be a better one.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 15 years.
