To the Polls, Glumly

Climaxing a two-week guessing game, Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson last week gave the widely expected answer and called a general election for Nov. 8. After 29 months of remarkably successful minority rule, Mike Pearson apparently feels strong enough to win more than the six additional seats he needs for a majority in the House of Commons.

The question is how Canada's voters feel about being dragged into their fifth election in eight years. Indications are that they are not at all enthusiastic. There are no real issues; the country is calm, prosperous and intent on getting more so. The normally pro-Pearson Ottawa Citizen was sharply critical of "the specious grounds" for an election; the Ottawa Journal called it "a spectacle of bad judgment"; the Toronto Globe and Mail rapped Pearson for ignoring "every conviction relative to the national good." Summed up the Montreal Star: "The feeling across the country is that no election is necessary. Mr. Pearson has chosen to act in defiance of that feeling."

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