NDP Leadership

July 10, 2003

NDP Leadership Race Like No Other

The November 21-23 NDP leadership convention will be like no previous convention. The candidates will not be sitting MLAs, and the challenge for the party is to rise from near annihilation. Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan have done a good job in starting the recovery. Recent polling numbers are some of the best the party has received since the six month period that brackets the 1996 election. A new leader could take that good head start on recovery and move it up or down, depending in great measure on how the campaign runs between now and November.

Appealing to both former NDP voters and to the potential universe of NDP voters attracted to a revitalized NDP might require a different focus from what it takes to win the votes of party activists who become convention delegates. Candidates will have to determine whether they want to win delegate support at all costs, or whether they want to bring delegates with them in achieving a new level of public support for NDP values.

All parties are coalitions of various interests. A party can become dysfunctional when interest group politics dominate such that single issue advocacy replaces the need to stay in touch with a broad cross section of the public - at least broad enough to make a party competitive. The NDP likes to taunt the Campbell liberals with some of the issues that divide their caucus; same sex marriages, abortion and similar moral or ethical issues are known to create differences within that caucus. Gordon Campbell has been successful in saying that free votes can resolve some of their differences.

NDPers also differ on a variety of policy issues. Mike Harcourt made enormous progress in bringing conflicting interests together on matters of resource development and environmental protection. Some activists in the Green Party curse his compromises and appear to regret that any logger still works in BC. Others say he went too far the other way and claim that BC has more than enough parks - just read some of Stan Hagen's remarks from some of the staged cabinet meetings. Within the NDP there are tensions over how to balance environmental policies with policies that will help resource dependent communities. A new leader needs to build on Harcourt's success in finding common ground. That cannot be done by appealing to one extreme or the other in order to win votes at a leadership convention.

The Campbell government is known for its vicious welfare policies. Through a freedom of information request, CBC recently unearthed government documents that warn Human Resources Minister Murray Coell about the dangers inherent in some of his policies. Some NDP activists appear to be upset with the former government for not eradicating poverty in BC. Soon after being elected in 1991, spending on welfare increased by $1 billion per year and opponents of the government went wild with accusations of welfare abuse. None of that was good enough for the activists who aggressively criticized attempts to focus resources on those most in need without going to the extremes now demonstrated by the Campbell government. A new leader has a responsibility to represent the victims of Campbell's cuts while maintaining a pledge to be fiscally responsible. The public demands no less. Convention delegates may find it easier to select an advocate than to support someone who wants workable public policy; the new leader may be torn between building support for the party and winning votes at convention.

Gordon Campbell has made balancing the budget in 2004-05 his primary objective. In the face of disasters including 9-11, the softwood dispute, SARS, and mad cow disease, a moderate government would reassess its plans, but not Campbell. A new NDP leader will also have to deal with the tradeoffs between balanced budgets, economic growth, tax policies and spending pressures from everyone who has been hurt by Campbell's cuts. It is easy to attack the cuts, but to be credible, the leader must acknowledge that everything cannot be done at the same time and that a future NDP government would balance its budget more often than twice in ten years. Some party activists might take offense at such caution.

The new NDP leader will have to go beyond simple advocacy and talk about issues that require balance and reason. The leader who wins the convention and goes on to take the party up will sometimes have to say some things that some activists don't want to hear.

July 9, 2003

NDP Leadership Race has a Face

Craig Keating told radio listeners across the province on Wednesday morning that he is standing for the leadership of the NDP. The declaration by the Langara history teacher will probably put pressure on other candidates to become more visible.

Keating is in his second term on North Vancouver's City Council. He did not play any role in the former NDP governments; he is part of a new generation of New Democrats coming forth to rebuild the party. If dozens more like Keating seek nominations to run for the party in 2005, the NDP will be renewed with credible, fresh faces.

Former Parksville-Nanaimo MLA, Leonard Krog, is expected to declare his candidacy, and other candidates are also likely to emerge in the next few weeks.

The November 21-23 convention will not have "instant" members since the time limit to sign up and vote for delegates has not allowed any "stacking" of the lists. Approximately 12,000 long term members will select convention delegates to choose the next NDP leader. That makes this leadership campaign different from any the party has held in recent memory. It is also different because candidates are likely to appeal directly to rank and file activists and ordinary members rather than relying on frequent announcements that one former cabinet minister or another is backing a particular camp. Candidates will want to speak about the positive accomplishments of the NDP decade while acknowledging that the party needs to change; they will want to address the concerns of hundreds of thousands of British Columbians who were angry with the former NDP and are now disillusioned with the Campbell government.

Keating's announcement marks a major turning point in the renewal of the party. He demonstrated that it is not necessary to postpone the convention, and that young people with solid careers are willing to commit themselves to renewal.