like in canada, the whole point of the politics of the left is to try to get the balance of power, so you can influence the sitting government.

that is what the ndp, the bloc and the greens are all all about - none of them are trying to win, they're all trying to get the balance of votes necessary to pass a budget, to force the government to have to work with them.

currently, the liberals cannot pass a budget without support from both the bloc and the ndp, which gives the ndp, especially, tremendous amounts of leverage.

this is the actual reason we have universal healthcare up here. ok, that's an exaggeration, an oversimplification; the liberals were pushing their own ideas, too. but, the form of what we have is a consequence of the liberals needing the votes from the ndp.

apparently, when independent-minded senators try to gain the balance of power in the united states, they get primaried by their own party.

it's instructive.