The times, they are a changin'... at least when it comes to Ontario politics. As the provincial election approaches, political parties on all sides are firing up their digital bunsen burners, experimenting with new ways to deliver their messages, engage supporters, and build grassroots support for their respective campaigns.
Take, for instance, Dalton.ca, a fascinating exercise by the Ontario Liberals to showcase the Premier's 'human' side, as presented in his (and his family's) own words. Excessively saccharine to some, the site - which presents Mr. McGuinty speaking direct to the camera, (apparently) unscripted and with no props - is also highly novel in its attempt to directly address some of the more volatile issues around the Premier's first term in office - namely his controversial decision to implement the Health Premium after promising not to increase taxes, and his promise to shut down Ontario's coal burning generating stations by 2007.
But even in this new era of transparency, is the decision by the Liberal's to tackle these issues head-on the right one, particularly in what is expected to be an intensely-fought campaign? Has the political wind changed so significantly that openness and honesty such as this will appeal to voters? Or is politics still fundamentally more evolutionary than revolutionary, and will this attempt to fight fire with fire simply remind voters of promises unkept. The risks are considerable. Without question, opposition parties will raise these same issues in an attempt to discredit the Liberals. Which begs the question, why feed the fire by raising these issues yourself?
No matter the number of Youtube videos we watch, the politicians we befriend on Facebook, and the blogs we read, politics and the web is still very much in its infancy. And it likely won't be until October 10, 2007, that we'll see if the Liberal's made the right choice.