LAST month, Canada held an election to choose a new House of Commons and Germany held an election to choose a new Bundestag. And at the end of this month, Japan will hold an election to choose a new House of Representatives. Rarely have major elections in G-7 powers taken place this close together.
In August, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election in the hope of strengthening his hand, but results yielded almost no change. Trudeau’s Liberal Party emerged with the most seats, but not a majority, and will form a government from a minority position. The results suggest that Canadians wanted to stick with what they know rather than take a chance on change, particularly with the Covid-19 pandemic still raging. Trudeau has been prime minister since 2015.