Saturday, September 1, 2012

Deep in thought

I've been trying to figure out what all the undecided voters mean in this election. I have a few thoughts.

1 - They are PQ Voters scared to admit they are voting for the PQ because they see PQ policies as unpopular among some.
A: I do not think this is the case. PQ voters would not be afraid to standing up and admitting to be PQ voters.

2 - They are QS or ON voters who are not really sure they should actually back a smaller party.
A: Considering the modest jump the QS had after the debates and the ON after the Parizeau donation, I would think that they would have made up their minds by now.

3 - They are Liberals who are unhappy with Charest, but uncertain if they can trust Legault with their vote.
A: I think this is the case 100%. I do not think the PQ will get many of these undecided voters, I really think the PQ is about as high as it's going to go, and that unless the last few polls show momentum, the PQ will not do as well as the polls say they will.

This however raises the question: Where will the voters torn between the CAQ and PLQ go?

In the Federal election of 2011 we saw the same split in Quebec between the BQ and NDP. Voters at that time decided they could indeed trust Jack Layton and swung heavily to him.

In Alberta's recent provincial election, we saw the same split, this time, between the PC Party and Wildrose. Voters there decided they could not trust Wildrose, and swing heavily to the PC Party.

So where will voters swing? Will they head to the CAQ because they feel they can trust Legault? Will they swing back to the PLQ out of fear of Legault? And what if these voters fear a PQ majority, will they swing to the tried-and-tested PQ defeaters in the PLQ, or, to the party the polls say could defeat the PQ, the CAQ? Will these voters, alternatively, stay home, so upset that they have no positive choice, and thus allow the PQ to take an even larger share of the pie?

I don't know.
But I'm trying to figure it out. I welcome any and all feedback from all readers on this issue.

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