election2000

Well, it�s 8:45 p.m. and I am in this huge windowless room, crammed with people. I am in one of three rows reserved for the press. Yes, I have my press pass around my neck, bbut there were no more phones left, so I theoretically don�t have a place to sit. I�m squeezed in between Veronique Darveau of the Hebdo de la Mauricie and Wilson Lee of CITY-TV, who is not sitting down, thank goodness.

IN front of me is a sound board, and numerous computers belonging to other journalists. The cameras lugged around are huge lenses, dropped on the floor. The amount of technology in this room is amazing � what a difference from the notepad, or the tape deck, or short-hand. We are all equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, be it laptops, digital cameras, or amazing TV cameras.

In the front of the room is a stage. On it are thirteen Canadian flags and a podium, with a Liberal symbol stuck on. It�s all for the Prime Minister. All this is for the Prime Minister. We tend to forget the reality of it here in Shawinigan. A small town, shrunken from its former glory as one of the wealthiest industrial towns in Canada. We tend to belittle Jean Chretien, mock his mangled language (French or English), his involvement in various scandals (real or imagined) and generally put him down. But this room is filled with journalists from across Canada, and from beyond. They are all here to see whether Jean Chretien is re-elected by the people of Saint-Maurice riding. Jean Chretien is still the Prime Minister of Canada, one of the most respected countries on this planet, and he comes from Shawinigan. And so my town is notorious for yet another night.

The numbers continue to appear on this screen in the corner. 195 of 301 polls have reported, with 126 Lib, 31 All, 17 Bloc. In Ontario, both Herb Gray and Peter Adams have been re-elected for the Liberals. It looks as though the Liberals are being re-elected in Ontario.   The Alliance has taken Yorkton-Melville�

10:05 � 140 L ,34 A ,20 Bloc, 12 NDP, 10 Conservative

As a key Liberal is elected, clapping echoes throughout the hall,

10:10 Lib 147 All 37 Bl 29 NDp 143 Con 10

We watch the screens as the results scroll down� it�s not hot, and the air is reasonably fresh. Unfortunately there are no free eats or drink.

Just across the St. Lawrence river from Trois-Rivi�res, the Bloc Quebecois member Louis Plamondon has just been re-elected (10:20b p.m.)

10:15 Lib 151 All 40   Bl 34 NDP 12 Cons 11

We are all waiting for the results in St Maurice�

Gilles Duceppe has just been re-elected in Laurier -St-Marie.

Lib 159 All 44 Bl NDP Cons

In Quebec, the picture is very different. Lib 36 , Bl 34

Surprise � Andr� Harvey has just taken Chicoutimi from the Bloc � will wonders never cease � a protest vote   against the PQ and Lucien Bouchard?

Lib 162 All 44 Bl 35 NDP 13 Cons 11

Well, it�s 10:25 p.m. and Jean Chretien has been re-elected.   � Radio Canada (French) anticipates a majority liberal government�   flashes on the screen. It seems as though the Liberals are home and running. Everything else is gravy. It looks as though the Alliance will form the Opposition.

The results are encouraging for the Liberals � George Farrah has just taken Bonaventure � it�s a gain!

The atmosphere is anticipatatory, subdued but waiting for something to happen. Directly in front of me are the TV cameras, interviewing under my nose. There's Michel Chretienjust at 11 o`clock- standing stiff and tall for the camera, wearing a headset and talking stiffly to the camera.

There`s a battle in Quebec Est � Jean Guy carignan is a few hundred votes ahead of the bloc canadiate, but by 11:40, he is 500 votes behind the Bloc. I still don�t know what the final result was.

10:45 � A gain for the Liberals � David Price has taken Compton-Stanstead

In the riding of Louis H�bert the liberals have a gain with Helene Scherrer! Another protest vote?

The air in the hall is still clean. No smoking in the press gallery�we are avidly watching the returns from across the country. Gains for the Liberals in Quebec � what does it mean? Protest votes against the Bloc, and indirectly against the Parti-quebecois?

It`s 10:55 now, and the results are as follows: Lib 17 69All 66 Bl 37 NDP 15 Cons 11

It`s 11:03 and in Quebec the score is as follows: Block 38, Lib. 37 and the rest have no seats at all�

Lib 169, All 67, Bloc 39, NDP 15, Cons 11 at 11:05,and Paul Martin has just been re-elected in Lasalle-Emard.

And all the polls have sent in their results � 301 of them. So what do we wake up to tomorrow morning? A Liberal majority government, which will have to make good on all those promises, with an Alliance opposition to keep them in line�

It`s 11:20 now. I�ve just seen some Liberal supporters that I know. Stockwell Day is talking on the two screens. He�s standing there with his wife and daughter-in-law, who is wearing a red dress, red lipstick and holding a babHowever, he made less than little inroad east of Manitoba. A few seats in Ontario, and that is where the next battle will be fought. So far the Alliance is still a regional vote, as is the Bloc. And as such, what kind of effect does it have on the whole of Canadian politics, and what does it say about Canada as a whole?

We are now all watching the provincial results � who took what. Some bets have been lost, and others won among the journalists�Joe Clark is now on the screens, victorious in Calgary. It is his triumphant moment and I am glad � he will bring a refreshing note of honesty and openness to the House.

I am hungry now, anticipating packing up the computer, trudging out to my car and driving up the hill to home. But the Prime Minister has yet to come to the podium. The journalist behind me is swearing � he is having trouble with his Internet connection and the deadlines are creeping up. To FTP or to fax � that is the question!

As soon as Joe has finished with his victory speech, perhaps Jean will come to the podium and then we can all file our reports and go to bed�

And he is here, but Gilles Duceppe is on the screen. So we have to wait a few more minutes. It�s not his turn yet.

However, on the stage, at the podium, a body is taking up space. It is not the Prime Minister, but a functionary.

But the clapping is swelling from the hall outside our windowless room. The chant is �Chretein, Chretien�

�Mesdames, Messieurs, the Prime minister of Canada, Jean Chretien and his wife, Aline,

And to the adulation of the crowd they mount the stage.

So what does Jean Chretien have to say?

His first words are to thank the voters of St. Maurice who have elected him for the 11th time tonight. And ��those who worked for the election in his riding and for all the political parties throughout the country. In a democracy there are really no losers. Those who seek public office deserve everybody�s respect�� He speaks in English and in French, eloquently and forcefully.

�I promise to do my best and lead a competent and efficient government. It is with great humility that I once again accept this honour��

He referred to his origins in Belgoville, now part of Shawinigan, still a small town, and noted that the party succeeded in electing members in every province with the exception of one territory. The party also took a majority of the popular vote in Quebec.

� Vive le Canada! �

As I finally reached the fresh cool air outdoors, treading carefully on the slippery sidewalk to my car, I asked the woman walking gingerly behind me if she was happy with the results. �Absolutely, but it was a dirty campaign � all that bad-mouthing, and he handled it so well. It�s not the Canadian way!�

It wasn�t like 1997 � this time they didn�t feed us, but it was much more comfortable, and I felt part of the gang. It was a gas�I�d do it again if the opportunity ever arises (in another 5 years???)

Riva Flexer
CBC Radio Quebec Community Correspondent for the Mauricie region.

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