Game of Thrones and Canadian Politics

As a fan of the HBO TV-series Game of Thrones, I can't help but associate its medieval fantasy politics to those of Canadian politics. Most people wouldn't associate them together but they'd be foolish not to. It's ALL about Canadian politics! Clearly!

To begin, allow me to sketch out the links between House Lannister and the Conservative Party of Canada.

House Lannister

One is cruel, ruthless and despicable...
and the other is Tywin Lannister.

This is a house that is characterized by betrayal and being well-funded. No one could doubt that this House is anything else but the spitting image of the Conservative Party of Canada. The patriarch of the family, Tywin Lannister, is Stephen Harper. A humourless man with great designs and schemes, he's a controlling figure that's been disappointed by those around him. Tywin is ruthless and seeks to consolidate power at every turn. Stephen Harper has taken cheap shots at his enemies and is forever looking to enshrine the Conservatives as the new "natural governing party of Canada" as evidenced by his scrapping of the per-vote subsidy. Unsurprisingly, no one likes either of them...

Lisa Raitt, the Minister of Labour, could no doubt be viewed as Cersei Lannister. Her divisive handling of both the Air Canada and Canada Post back-to-work legislation makes her a conniving figure. Nothing she says can be taken at face value and her thirst for power is only matched by his contempt for "commoners".

Her twin brother Jaime Lannister, an underachieving pompous jerk resembles Peter MacKay. Unwilling to assume the burden of power, Jaime was nonetheless willing to murder the Old Mad King. I'm fairly certain former Progressive Conservative Leader and ex-Prime Minister Joe Clark doesn't deserve to be referred to that way but the parallels between those two situations aren't that big of a stretch... Just like Jaime, Peter MacKay cannot be shamed as he oversaw huge expenditures in alcohol purchases for the Kabul embassy during his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

When discussing the Lannisters, it's impossible to avoid the topic of incest. It's kind of a hallmark of the family which makes direct comparisons rather difficult. However, it's important to note that on the topic, we need to look no further than this for illumination:

"Women who become pregnant through rape or incest should not qualify for government-funded abortions unless their pregnancy is life-threatening." -Stockwell Day, 1995, at an Alberta Conservative party convention.

So you could say that the Conservative Party of Canada's approach to dealing with incest, when contrasted with the other parties, is ambivalent. Just saying...

Next we have the whiny, self-aggrandizing, big-mouth and tiresome antics of one Joffrey Baratheon (who is, in fact, the son of Cersei and Jaime). The initials J.B. are a perfect match for John Baird who cannot shut up for one second when the cameras are on him. He also has the maturity of a teenager and yes, he also has aims to be the nation's leader.

Tell me you don't secretly wish this to happen to John Baird?

But it's not all bad! We're still given amusement by the antics of Tyrion Lannister in the form of Jim Flaherty. Generally, Jim Flaherty isn't known for his sense of humour or wit but consider these quotes from various sources.

"We may well be in a technical recession."
- (November 23, 2008)

"We will not run a deficit."
- (October 9, 2008)

"I don’t agree with him that there is a structural deficit."
-(January 15, 2010)

That's pretty funny in the same way that seeing an ostrich bury its head in the sand when faced with danger is tragically hilarious. Also, he's apparently very short so he's the closest thing the Conservatives have to a witty and clever imp.

With so many Houses in the Seven Kingdoms, which ones best reflect the NDP? The Liberals? The Bloc? The Greens? These hard-hitting topics are what I'm going to tackle as Parliament is in recess... because pontificating on the witch hunt of former Bloc members doesn't appeal to me and this, in all likelihood, is more  interesting and newsworthy in my opinion.