Who could have guessed? All Stephen Harper has to do to win a majority is jet off to Willie and Kate's wedding.

Or at least that's one way to interpret the results of a new Abacus Data Inc. poll.

Canadians are apparently united behind a Harper trip to the royal wedding in numbers that dwarf the support of any political party -- or leader.

Overall, 59% of 1,000 Canadians surveyed believe the Harpers should bail on the election campaign for a day or two and claim their seats in a pew at Westminster Abbey to see Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot in what is being billed as the social event of the decade.

Give any party 59% of the vote on May 2 and its majority would be large enough to tilt the House of Commons on its foundation.

However, there will be no new dress for Laureen and no sipping champagne with celebrities for the man who covets a majority.

Good call.

Because if this latest poll tells us anything, it is that Canadians are heavily conflicted when it comes to the royal family.

Another polling firm, Angus Reid, regularly tracks support for the monarchy. A survey done this past December found 70% of respondents weren't interested in the royal family's affairs and 69% had no interest in the upcoming wedding.

Within the political realm, only 21% favoured continuing an official relationship with the monarchy. Replacing kings and queens with an elected head of state was the choice of 32% and 29% didn't care one way or the other. The rest had no opinion or were undecided.

Yet nearly six in 10 Canadians now say they want the Harpers in Britain for the wedding, even though it happens with just four days left in the election campaign.

That suggests conflict with a very big C. The most likely explanation is that many people view William and Kate's wedding as a social phenomenon, not a representation of the monarchy as institution. The young royals are not just celebrities, they are mega-celebrities, and celebrity trumps a tarnished monarchy. By sending stand-ins to a triple-A social event, Canada relegates itself to the B list.

When the party's over few will care if the bridal couple one day become King and Queen.

But they'll eat up the wedding photos -- with or without the Harpers.

Posted [2011-04-01]

Source Article - Northumberland Today - (SunMedia Affilaite)