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Decisions in leadership - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER -- The main objective of the federal New Democratic Party’s upcoming leadership race is to reinvigorate interest in the party. Much more than picking a new leader, the party looks to Canadians to consider it as the left-of-centre choice in Canada.

Mainstream Canadians -- the middle ground in the Canadian populous -- would like a leftist party to vote for. The NDP however, has lost favour with the Canadian public. NDP governments in BC and Ontario, for two, have been lacklustre and thus the refusal to vote NDP federally. Add to that the failure of their past NDP leaders Audrey MacLaughlin and Alexa McDonough to ignite the imagination of Canadians. The Liberals’ success has mainly emanated from a fear and loathing of the perceived hard right ideals of the Reform cum Alliance party. The Liberals are proof positive that you don’t have to be a ‘10’ in politics. Rafe Mair was right when he says you can be a ‘3’, as long as everyone else is a ‘2’. The Liberals, for decades, have been passable ‘3’s.’ The NDP, sadly, looks a low ‘2’ or even a ‘1’.

The NDP to achieve greater success come election time should emulate the model utilised by Tony Blair and the lot of his Labour Party in Britain. Rather than calling for the maintenance by the state, of its citizens from erection to resurrection, the Labour Party in Blighty has seen it in their favour to embrace the major tenets of Thatcherism. Certainly, if New Democrats decide to abhor the hard left, greater electoral success would be possible. However, doctrinaire socialists would be upset and abandon the party. The perception of always going against the tide of corporatism, neo-liberalism and globalisation, hurts the NDP’s chances with “mainstream Canadians”.

We’ll just have to see who of the possible candidates will be able to direct the NDP to the 21st century. Who of those that will want to succeed Alexa McDonough, be able to stem the electoral haemorrhage faced by the party in the last decade? If Svend Robinson were to take the helm, then the left would find a real leftist home. Rabble rousers like those that were up at Whistler this past week, Halifax this weekend, or at Kananaskis in two weeks, would feel more at home with the NDP. However, there will be an across the board boycott by middle ground Canadians who will simply not be in support of a hard left outfit. They’ll probably end up going to the Grits anyways.

Robinson hasn’t declared any intention to run, though he should. In 1995, when the party chose Alexa McDonough, Svend himself came out way ahead of McDonough and third place finisher Lorne Nystrom. With the support of the Canadian Labour Congress and its boss Buzz Hargrove, Robinson was set to win the leadership. However, he did decide to give in and ‘give’ the leadership to Alexa McDonough. Recently when Robinson faced that controversy with his stand in favour of Yasser Arafat, one which upset prominent NDPer and former Ontario premier Bob Rae, McDonough instead of sacking Robinson from caucus altogether, merely stripped him of Middle Eastern critic duties.

This Monday, the Reverend Bill Blaikie an MP from Manitoba, will announce his intention to stand as a candidate for the leadership of the New Democratic Party. Blaikie, a long-time Member of Parliament is a good show at Question Period, with solid party credentials. He’d make a good leader, but at election time, could he begin a new New Democratic revolution in Canada? He’s got the substance, but has he the style?

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Now, speaking of leadership questions, Parliament Hill is abound with a rumour that Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark may step aside soon. His blond daughter, Catherine was wed last week in a noteworthy story, and it was thought then that he would announce his departure. However, some have said it could be any day now that the Right Honourable former prime minister will step down following a comfortable offer from his party. Following the surprising by-election in Newfoundland where the Tories went to 13 seats in the House (one more than needed to be recognised as a party), Clark has felt some pressure on him to leave.

This past week, here in BC, former cabinet minister and Tory biggie John Crosbie has called for Clark’s resignation. At a fundraiser here, the former finance, justice, transport, fisheries and trade minister, said Clark should go in favour of new blood. According to Crosbie, though he’s worked hard in the House as leader, Clark is “not capable of causing any excitement in the country.” A true sentiment, however it seems a tad rude considering it was Clark himself that boosted Crosbie as finance minister in the Clark interregnum of 1979.

Some of the names being floated about to succeed Clark are appealing; perhaps more than those who’ll run for the NDP’s top job. Current Tory House Leader Peter MacKay is telegenic and young. He was younger than Stockwell Day, and certainly younger than Stephen Harper. Other names making the rounds include former Tory backroom boy, John Tory. He ran the 1993 Conservative party campaign for Kim Campbell, the one where unflattering ads belittling Jean Chrétien’s facial deformities were used. Another is Hugh Segal, another backroom boy, who is a staunch Tory member who ran against Clark for the leadership in 1998. Then there are the provincial hopefuls in the New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, and Quebec hotshot Mario Dumont of the popular and burgeoning ADQ. Lord, if properly coaxed would be ideal as he is young (early 30s) and bilingual. I doubt Dumont will want to jump to the federal scene however. As stated in a previous column in this space, Dumont’s destiny is in Quebec; where as reported on the CBC on Friday, he could one day be premier of.

The Tory and NDP leadership movements, coupled with the Liberals’ troubles make for interesting political watching in this country. It’ll be an interesting summer, for sure.

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