After Tennant...Who

Much is being made about the departure in 2010 of the 10th Doctor, David Tennant Certainly he is and will be considered one of the great doctors of all time. He took the role from the much appreciated Christopher Eccleston, who single-handedly brought back Dr. Who to the prominence it so rightly deserves.

David Tennant came on and continued the renaissance that is the new Doctor Who. He brought,as all the actors do, a unique style. He was part Elvis, the side-burns, part Ben Stein, the running shoes and suits, and a whole lot of style. He was smart, a bit arrogant at times, especially when he was right, vulnerable and caring.

One of the delightful cuts from Doctor Who came from the ``Children in Need`` special:



The interaction between the Two Doctors is very special, it is as if a fan is meeting his hero, and truly the line `you were my favourite doctor`is given with a great deal of sincerity. The exchange is not just starry eyed fan, there are a lot of great lines in a matter of a few minutes.

The question however is, who will be the next WhoÉ Even Russel Davis isn`t sure.

This being one of the premier television roles on British Television, there is no end to either the speculation or the suggestions. One person has suggested Stephen Fry. Another actor, Warrick Davis has expressed enthusiasm for the role and no doubt the list will grow and people will start campaigns for their favourite person to be the next Doctor Who.

Right now the odds on favourite, at least by the bookies is Paterson Joseph. As you can read, he has played a character during the first season, so it remains to be seen.

While a number have stressed the replacement actor will be British, a group representing female scientists have begun to lobby for a female Doctor Who. Of course the notion of a female Time Lord is not foreign to the Doctor Who world, all we have to do is remember Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, from the Tom Baker days.

Of course, my favourite candidate, who will sadly not be chosen is Liam Lynch. Since he is an American, that would almost negate the chance, since the BBC will not allow the jewel in its crown to become American. Still he would make a good Doctor since he is a fan as you can see by the video.

The speculation will be entertaining and one can only imagine, Russell Davis telephone will be ringing a lot with calls from all sorts of agents.

Can`t wait to hear who finally will be chosen.

So Let me Get this Right

Right now it appears the Harper government will lose the vote of confidence and he will have to pay a visit to the Governor General. At that moment he will advice the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call for an election. Of course the Governor General has the right to call the leader of the second largest party and ask if he can form a new government. As you have read the Liberal, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have signed an accord.

The details of the deal are as follows:

# 4 members of cabinet and Dion as prime minister
# 18 Liberal cabinet ministers (including a yet-to-be-named Liberal finance minister)
# 6 NDP cabinet ministers
# 6 NDP parliamentary secretaries
# The 2 caucuses would sit side by side in the House of Commons
# The agreement between the NDP and Liberals would expire on June 30, 2011, unless renewed. The Bloc is only committed to 18 months.

Certainly it could be said coalition governments are not a new experience for most of the western world. Indeed, an examination of Western Europe reveals a number of coalition governments. They are rare in the experience of the Westminster system of Parliament. Historically speaking, Canada did experience a coalition government during the First World War. Sir Robert Borden established a Union Government which existed from 1917 to 1920.

Let's consider some issues, of course the members of the coalition have pointed out they 'represent' the majority of Canadians, since if one combines the Liberals 26% with the NDP's 18% means that a total of 44% of Canadians supported the two parties, include the BQ's 9.97% means over 50% voted for the 'coalition' partners. Of course if one considers that the two main partners were rejected by 74% of Canadians as it pertains to the Liberals and 82% rejected the NDP's.

Then there is the potential PM, Stephane Dion, just before the election 36% of Canadians thought he could be trusted to lead Canada throught the economic problems. So that means the new government may be lead by a person to whom Canadians have no support towards, good idea.

The partner that will make this all happen, the stick that stirs the drink if you wish, is the BQ. One wonders what sort of grocery list has been given to the Liberals for the support. Let's remind ourselves of one of the goals of the BQ- they want to separate from Canada. They believe Quebec is a nation.

Don Martin wrote an interesting comment on the 'three headed monster'.

It could be argued, and perhaps rightly, the present government has not taken the issues of the economic meltdown with the gravity deserved. They point to the Finance Ministers 'economic statement' as proof of their contention. It could also be argued that it was simply a statement and not a budget and the government is waiting for the new American government to decide what to do with the auto industry.

However, all this wasn't enough, so the coalition happened and now we face some 'interesting' times. Right now, the war is being fought in the House and now in cyberspace. For example, in Twitter there is LiberalHQ that will pump information to you with a Liberal slant. I'm sure there will be a special Conservative and NDP twitter soon enough.

Then there's this article, the Liberals are not united behind Dion with this coalition partnership. The contenders for the Liberal leadership are not pleased they've been kept out of the loop. Again, the Party does not support Dion. Read the article here.

Let's remember, this is a weak and divided party and they will give Canada the stablity it needs during this time of uncertainty. Plus, let's not forget this is a global problem and not limited to one country. So how much can be done?

Now as I studied all that has happened, I came across this article. It seems the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May has said she supports the coalition and has:

And Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is endorsing the proposed coalition government and says she has spoken with Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion about the possibility of her being appointed to the Senate.

You can read her blog on the issue. My problem is that it reeks of opportunism. Then again I suppose supporters of the potential Prime Minister expect a few perks to be sent their way. But, for a party that supports Proportional Representation wants to be a part of an unelection body, doesn't sit well with me. And to think, I got my membership card today.

So we wait to see what happens.