[lbo-talk] The NDP convention

Marv Gandall marvgand2 at gmail.com
Sun Feb 18 18:47:55 PST 2018


Like the tepid Niki Ashton leadership campaign which preceded it, this weekend's NDP convention affirmed that there are not the same conditions in Canada which produced the startling rank and file insurgencies in the US and British left-centre parties.

Specifically, 1) the economic and social crises in the US and UK are deeper than in Canada 2) the NDP is a marginal third party which hasn’t had the same opportunity in government to disappoint its supporters as repeatedly have the Labour and Democratic parties and 3) the NDP doesn’t have a dissident politician with the stature of Jeremy Corbyn or Bernie Sanders around whom leftists inside and around the party can rally.

Not surprising then that the party establishment was easily able to deflect challenges from the left to the party’s anodyne positions on Israel and climate change and to win near unanimous support for its less controversial policies dealing, among things, with race, gender, indigenous rights, and improved social programs. These remain promises to its hopeful supporters which are untested in government and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/despite-alberta-b-c-rift-new-democrats-dodge-controversy-at-last-pre-election-gathering



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