Time to Unite the Left and Center in Canadian Politics by Louis Evan Palmer
The NDP can change their name a hundred times and it won't mean any more than a few points in the polls either way. Even if they dramatically re-align their policies to forge a new Labour type of transformation a la the UK's BLIAR, it won't work as they've never had the critical mass. If they think they can accomplish the same feat nation-wide that the Nova Scotia NDP achieved, they are dreaming.
In the old days before the Bloc and the Alliance, which was no more than a regional Western party, there was no hope of the PCs or the Alliance coming even close to power. The Liberals and NDP if they have leadership who can actually see the situation as it is, and want power to effect change, know that they must either destroy each other (and the Greens) or merge. The alternative is an endless series of minority governments.
Then they can assume power and turn their attention to withering Bloc support to the point where it re-submerges with the PQ, disappearing at the federal level, and leaving one separatist entity to deal with.
Do the Liberals have the gumption and grits to vigorously pursue a merger with the NDP? Not a word has passed Ignatief's lips. Layton keeps babbling about becoming PM. And the Green, one can only think of a conspiracy to split the left and center vote, as it can't even win a seat but can siphon off enough votes to make the NDP and Liberal lose ridings.
Can Layton shake off his ideological fetters long enough to agree on a merger with the Liberals? Like the Alliance and Progressive Conservative, they should maintain the name of the stronger entity. The unions have to accept a lesser, more informal, role as is right in a democratic society. Canadians rebel at the thought of a small group lording it over the rest be it union bosses or corporate CEOs.
Do the Liberals and the NDP want to effect change for the better? Then they need to be given power by the people. To get that power, they must merge and appeal to more people and lessen the wasted votes that are getting split. A merger is the logical next step. Otherwise, the Liberals and NDP are wasting Canadians time and money.
Time to Unite the Left and Center in Canadian Politics, Louis Evan Palmer, The Way It Can Be, http://twicb.blogspot.com
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Copyright 2009 Louis Evan Palmer lives in Ontario Canada. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications.
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