While not the most popular of positions to hold in Liberal-ville, I can tell you I firmly believe that the elimination of the subsidy would be a positive move forward if done properly.First and foremost, as a public policy tool the subsidy has clearly been an absolute failure. Supporters of the subsidy often claim that it increases turnout in elections given that voters know that even if their candidate loses, they have given money to the Party. However, look at turnout in the three elections since the creation of the subsidy:
2004 - 60.9%
2006 - 64.9%
2008 - 59.1%
In contrast, the three elections before the subsidy had turnouts of:
1993 - 70.9%
1997 - 67.0%
2000 - 61.2%
The subsidy has done nothing to arrest the gradual decline in turnout. I believe this is due to the fact that people just aren't motivated by their current political options - they wouldn't care one way or another if there was money involved. So, as a public policy tool, the subsidy has been a failure.
I also believe that, in the long term, eliminating the subsidy would prove beneficial to the Liberal Party. To be frank, sooner or later, it will be eliminated. The Tories seem absolutely dead-set on it and if they campaign on it during the next election (which they will), I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the next budget after that.
We should propose a compromise with the Conservatives. The current donation limit which hovers around $1000 is remarkably low - for comparison, the French donation limit is 7500 Euros per person. Tom Flanagan's piece on leadership finances makes a point that I'll gladly paraphrase - "do you really think anyone can buy much influence today for $5000?"
Lastly, this would be crippling for the BQ, NDP, and Greens. While I am no means privy to insider knowledge of their finance machines, I do know that they are far more dependent on it than the Liberals are. This is especially the case for the BQ who is pretty much completely financed by the subsidy. I'd be willing to bet that the BQ fundraising machine has atrophied significantly over the past few years.
Comments