“Economic storm clouds and a lukewarm reception to the Liberals’ Green Shift plan will likely shelve a national carbon tax for now, experts say. Economists and environmental groups say it’s unlikely future governments would adopt the policy.“ [see: ‘Carbon tax likely shelved for now: experts’, The Canadian Press, October 14]

The Canadian voters have shown the door to the imposition of nonsensical ‘Green’ taxes and costs [‘Canadians re-elect Conservatives’, BBC Online Americas News, October 15]. With nearly all the votes in, the sitting PM, Stephen Harper [picture], and his Conservative Party have won 143 seats (37.6% of the popular vote), an increase of 16 seats. The opposition Liberal Party, under Stephane Dion, has lost nearly 20 seats (26.2% of the popular vote). The Bloc Quebecois took 50 seats (10% of the popular vote).

The result of the ‘Canadian Election 2008’ is hardly a surprise. Why? The Liberals were touting an onerous ‘Green’ carbon tax [see: ‘Election 2008’, The Chronicle Herald, October 15]:

“If Mr. Harper’s big campaign error was blowing potential gains in Quebec, Mr. Dion’s was building a campaign around the Green Shift.

Electorally, it was a shift that simply didn’t work for the Liberals. It shifted old supporters out of the party in fear that it would raise their energy costs, but did not seem to shift idealistic new ones in.

Although Mr. Dion was, as he fairly claimed, the greenest mainstream party leader on offer, green voters didn’t come to him in any numbers in the end. The shift was beyond what mainstream voters were ready to do for the environment; the green vanguard proved fickle and so the great green gamble was a fizzle.”

Ministry of Silly Walks

Now let’s watch Europe likewise take the fizz - the CO2 - out of the ‘Green’ bottle. As Carl Mortished writes in The Times [‘Banks face dark days after Brown’s “finest hour”’, The Times, October 15]:

“Even as we move into an era of rising unemployment, the Government wants to impose even greater costs on businesses and consumers in the fight against climate change. Greenhouse gas reductions of 20 per cent would be extremely challenging in a thriving economy.

Today, they look onerous, if not impossible.”

Just so.

Yet, never mind! All is well. The UK has a Minister for Climate Change.

Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks [above left] is alive and kicking.