Pivot or Pirouette?: The 1993 Canadian General Election

by Thomas Flanagan

The strangest election in modern Canadian history, described by a political insider.
 
The 1993 Canadian general election felt like a watershed moment. A once-dominant conservative coalition splintered into decentralized regional parties, despite the national party’s efforts to rally behind the first female prime minister. The separatist Bloc Québécois claimed the opposition and the regional Reform Party swept the West, reducing the traditional Conservatives to two seats. Tom Flanagan, campaign manager through the ‘90s, describes how this sudden populist “pivot” corrected into a full pirouette as the traditional parties absorbed the new movements. Pivot or Pirouette? proves the time-tested no matter how much new parties may shake up the system, eventually they are absorbed into it.

200 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Thomas Flanagan (November 5, 1923 – March 21, 2002) was an American professor of English literature who specialized in Irish literature. He was also a successful novelist. Flanagan, who was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, graduated from Amherst College in 1945. He was a tenured full - Professor in the English Department at the University of California, Berkeley until his retirement. Flanagan died in 2002, at the age of 78, in Berkeley.

He won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1979. The Archives and Special Collections at Amherst College holds his papers.

Reviews

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flanagan does a good enough job of divorcing himself from past alliances to offer a data-driven analysis of the election and larger electoral history. The theoretical closing was less valuable to me personally but I appreciate people are out there doing such work.

[Dan Morley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1993 federal election was the first one that I voted in and followed closely as a second year poli sci student. This book provides a good, succinct overview of the issues and factors that led to the outcome. Although Flanagan supported and worked for the Reform Party, he is generally fair. Looking forward to future volumes in this series.

[Andy C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks, Tom, a great little read. All kinds of details that I had forgotten. And what a great premise and thesis. Your contribution to Canadian politics and Canadian political literature continues. thanks

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct analysis of the 1993 Canadian federal election - certainly an interesting, and informative, take on this historic election.

[David Akeroyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike many of Flanagan's other works this manages to divorce itself from his biases to be a fairly neutral account of the 1993 election as well as the events before and after.

[George Hodgson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There’s nothing new under the sun” and not much new in this book either. This is more of an account of Tom Flanagan’s journey than a source of any insight. Fortunately it is a short read.

[Walter Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining read and a strong argument.