This is not only the season to be jolly, but if you're a political wonk it's a feast of plenty. South of the border we're seeing the spectacle of the Republican presidential nomination race unfold as only it can in the U.S. This event is a decidedly intriguing affair replete with fundamentalist zealots, memory zaps and over-active zippers. To the casual observer, and many middle-of-the-road Republicans, the U.S. race is beginning to look like an accident-prone soap.
Meanwhile, on this side of the border and probably with a better sense of propriety we've just seen the opening round of the federal NDP leadership race. Last Sunday the nine New Democrat hopefuls squared off for the first debate, this one on the economy.
When New Democrats talk about the economy it does give one pause, not unlike having Colonel Sanders talk about chickens. There's an unsavory, almost predatory interest at work and true to form, last Sunday's NDP debate delivered.
First into the class-warfare fray was Peggy Nash, an Ontario MP. Nash was the NDP finance critic prior to entering the leadership race. She is a former airline ticket agent who rose through the union ranks to a top position with the Canadian Auto Workers. Nash is convinced the world's most successful countries are those who haven't handed all decision-making powers to corporations. Accordingly, Nash wants decisions about the national economy to be made by unions. Given that unions play a deciding role at NDP leadership conventions, this is good for Nash. How good it is for the rest of us chickens
remains to be seen.
Leadership hopeful Brian Topp - considered by many to be on the inside track - is taking the Robin Hood route and advocating higher taxes on the wealthy. He wants to raise the top income tax rate from 28 per cent to 35 per cent. This may sound appealing to some, except in Canada the top tax rate kicks in at an income level of $128,800.
For many Canadians - including a good number of union members - that's hitting pretty close to home.
More worrisome, Topp's policy targets precisely the skilled people we can't afford to lose; they are those in the skilled professions including engineers, computer scientists, academics, accountants, lawyers and physicians. The list could go forever, but in this economy, anyone with a high-paying job is a producer and not one we want to lose to the U.S. where skill shortages are as critical as those in Canada.
If Topp wants to wage class-warfare he'd better pick his class with care.
Both Nash and Topp point out the inherent problem with political leadership contests; the candidates have to appeal to an overly idealistic voting block, which in no way reflects the mood of the Canadian mainstream voter. Don't feel bad about this New Democrats; the Republicans have the same problem. The question being how far do you have to dumb-down the party platform without destroying your national credibility?
The other issue for the NDP hopefuls is Quebec. The NDP became the official opposition when it picked up 59 seats in Quebec. But that Quebec turnout last May wasn't an NDP win - it was a Jack Layton win.
Will a new Jack Layton emerge from the leadership convention? It's not too likely. Layton's sense of humor, charm and personality captivated Quebec voters, but there's no obvious Jack Layton replacement in the current slate of candidates. Nor is there a strong Quebec membership commitment to the NDP.
Can the NDP count on Quebec the next time out? It's questionable.
I would never call Quebec voters fickle or capricious, but former BQ leader Gilles Duceppe would.
One item to note for those of us in Northern B.C. was the performance of Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen. Most of the Eastern establishment press - many of whom think Canada ends at the Western wilds of Pearson Airport - noted Cullen's sense of humor.
In particular when he said, "I am in violent agreement with my colleagues."
Being a good sport can go a long way in politics, particularly when the objective for all candidates is to gather as many friends as they can.
Finally, whatever the NDP does it must remember that when it chooses a new leader March 24, 2012, the next federal election will still be three years away. In that time the Liberal Party will have elected a leader, plus B.C., Alberta and Ontario will have additional House of Commons seats. By 2015 who knows what direction the Canadian economy will have taken? Moreover, it's difficult to predict what issues Stephen Harper will take to the next campaign; or if he'll run.
The NDP leadership convention and its search for the Promised Land of government is a journey into the political unknown. The smart candidate will stay loose, committed to all of Canada and decidedly in the electoral middle.
