Why?
It's not because they want a strong competitor.
It's because they want to neutralise their greatest weakness.
And what is the Conservative's great electoral weakness?
It isn't governing -- despite the G20/G8 problems overall the Conservatives are competent enough administrators.
No, the Conservatives weakness comes because they are, like the NDP, not a Party of the Center. And Canada is a nation of the Center.
Clearly we Liberals have some real problems -- look at the polls -- but in the long run we, as a Party of the Center, mirror Canada far better than the Conservatives.
But, merge with the NDP and we cease to be a Party of the Center. We, like the Conservatives, will not mirror Canadian values.
And then the Conservative's weakness ceases to matter much.
That's why they want an NDP/Liberal merger.
13 comments:
NDP/LPC coalition-merger...whatever you want to call it is Harper's dream come true and couldn't have come at a better time for him.
If the rumour is true that he plans to close up the shop early in order to call an early fall election, he has more motivation to do it now.
Since Iggy's announcement, this has become red meat for the conservatives. And that incessant rumour mill in the background is making things worse.
Then Warren Kinella weighing in yesterday; sounded like an attitude of defeat to me.
Yeesh! I will say it again. Short of being rid of both Rae and Iggy, it will be three times a charm for Harper & he will get his majority.
I agree with your analysis. This is a complete trap and the Conservatives would have a field day with a left of centre party run by bob rae and jack layton. This is a b.s. story and i would like to know who are those so-called liberal insiders. The grass roots wants to have a conversation with yo.
As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on this one. I find myself a lot more to the center than the current Liberal ethos right now, of which I remain a member while holding my nose I'm afraid. Maybe my real disease is to have been trained as an economist, I don't know, but I feel we've already been competing far too long with the NPD on who's the best champion for state (especially centralist) interventionism and economic nationalism.
Right now, I see no party of the center - I don't see what you see, that's for sure. Paradoxically, by definition, every democracy is a country of the center (median voter and all that stuff). And I'm thinking that if we do want to compete efficiently for the center with Harper or any other right-wing force, we need to stop trying to defend simplistic alternatives, and this requires a debate within the center-left, which we can't have right now, because we are having a stupid competition with the NPD as to who's going to have the largest chunk of the left-wing grassroots.
Also, factor in the new finance rules - with businesses out of the picture, who's going to spend time and money on the center? Activists make up the political parties today, I'm afraid, so better have 2 main parties competing for the center out of political necessity, than us remaining in exactly the position of the right before their own merger, that is remaining in the opposition while enjoying our reassuring ideological comforts.
Again, I'm still thinking this one out. But I'm no conservative minion: maybe we just don't see the center in the same place.
Iggy and the rest of you 'elitists' kill me with your self absorption in bourgeoisie politics. The merging of the NDP and Liberals will give real average working Canadians the opportunity to take back this country from the right wing nut jobs, corporate/ banksters/fraudsters and from the right wing Liberals who are no better than those I just mentioned.
A merger would stop the vote splitting between the left, which has allowed the conservatives to gain off those divisions.
The ASSUMPTION is that some NDP and Liberal supporters would flock to the Conservatives if a merger took place. I don't believe a large portion of the left wing base is so fickle that they would jump ideology and go right wing. If you are a true supporter of the NDP or Liberals, you would take into account the policy that would come out of this merger before jumping ship. Seriously, do you really think NDP/Lib supporters would actually support Harper!? Those are not supporters but are soft voters who could land on either side of the fence during an election campaign.
Why would the liberals move from the centre if they merged with the NDP?
Don't you think it is more likely the NDP will move towards the centre?
Don't forget which party is the dominant party here, and don't forget that despite the fact the merger of the Reform and PC parties moved the PC to the right on paper, in reality the merged party has moved to the centre, because, as you say, that is the only way they can remain in government.
Why would anyone want to get rid of the Liberal Party, but Harper and a few NDP. It makes me sick. Mr Chretien is not behind this, because he loves the Liberal party.
LOL... Party Of The Centre ALL CAPS. As if its a trademark.
You, Scott Reid, Dave Herle and the nostalgics are going to occassion an unprecedented era of Tory rule.
The options are, and will eventually be seen by all to be: do something now to close the progressive estrangement or merge later after Harper`s fourth or fifth majority term and inherit a decimated Canada.
It took the right a decade of getting their ass kicked, too.
As for party of Canadian values... won`t dignify with a response.
Self correction and apology from previous post:
a) didn`t mean to associate you in any way with DH or SR. That`s too far.
b) Those two gentlemen, and their former boss, have already done more than their share to marginalize progressive values and the Liberal Party.
A trap? Set by who?
Ignatieff has said there will be no merger.
There are senior members from both The Lib and NDP parties having quiet merger talks.This is according to at least one known source,Kinsella (Can Chretien be far behind?).
Other Libs. (Rae and Dosanjh) now insist the merge talks are "rubbish".I point out though it was Rae's own musings that put fuel into all of this in the first place.
So, who set the trap?
The leader of the Lib party has lost control.The message whatever it is, is in disarray.
No trap has been set. It is a case of incompetence in the Lib. leadership.Some Conservative commentators may like what they see but the events are not of their making.
Gayle,
If, as you say, "in reality the merged (Conservative) party has moved to the centre", then what reason would any centre Liberal voter have for staying with an NDP/Liberal merged party? Why would they stay to vote in Minister Mulcair?
James, you should take anonymous off..just a bunch of trolls
"Trap" would imply that the Conservatives set it up. They didn't. They might benefit from it, but they didn't set it up.
You can see what's in it for the NDP, coalitions or mergers are their only shot at cabinet seats in their lifetime. What's in it for the Liberals though? Other than a *possible* short-cut off the opposition benches, I really don't see one and James pointed out the obvious danger.
It's also working noting that while the Liberals have governed well in the past, (and were seen to do so by Canadians), a LibDemocrat party has not done so. It's possible, (though by no means guaranteed of course) that a LibDemocrat party would simply make a lousy government.
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