Avi Lewis gewinnt entscheidend die Führung der NDP auf Bundesebene; Die NDP-Führer von Alberta und Saskatchewan geraten törichterweise in Panik
Avi Lewis gewinnt entscheidend die Führung der NDP auf Bundesebene; Die NDP-Führer von Alberta und Saskatchewan geraten törichterweise in Panik
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>And like almost all Western parties of labour, the NDP had already pushed many working class voters into the arms of MAGA right by ignoring their aspirations and refusing to acknowledge the role of the economic policies the party supported in crushing working families.
This is probably true, but I don’t really see anything in Lewis‘ platform that is going to recapture these people, and several things liable to turn them further off
>The base of the national NDP remains dominated by social democrats, no matter what the party establishment thinks or wishes
Has anyone questioned that? The larger problem is that it is obvious that social democrats represent maybe ~10% of the populace, so appealing to them is not much of an electoral strategy
The „decisive“ part is right but you won’t see it printed in any mainstream takes on Lewis‘ victory. Lewis has the biggest victory margin of the OMOV era and amazingly he got more people to participate in this leadership contest then the last one (back when the party had official status and 40+ seats).
The party is a lot less divided then it was two days ago and the membership has now spoken.
Is the path the NDP is on not the same as the Conservatives with their leadership? Elect someone as party leader who is very popular with the party base but hasn’t been able to win over the swing electorate in their favour? (that remains to be seen with Lewis but was true of Singh) It’s not really any different of a position for either party and a huge reason why Carney looks to always be able to present himself as the stable, steady hands leader for Canada right now
That convention was a clown show. No wonder why provincial NDP leaders are embarrassed by it. And it’s amazing that the federal NDP is so blissfully unaware of how their „card“ system looks to the rest of Canada.
Just imagine if some other party implemented a status system where white men get explicit priority over other groups. That would obviously be a racist thing to do. But what the NDP is doing here is no less racist than that. This is obvious to most people, but apparently it isn’t obvious to everyone in that room.
It’s also no coincidence where this kind of echo-chamber politics leads. The federal NDP was at its absolute peak (2009–2014) when it focused on pragmatic, working-class issues that appealed to a large segment of voters. But ever since they pivoted to shadowing the Green Party with the 2015 „Leap Manifesto“ (and now electing its author as leader), they’ve steadily alienated their traditional base.
That „imitation Green Party“ pivot started their descent to their current situation: down to 7 seats and losing official party status entirely. Then they lost Lori Idlout to a floor crossing to the Liberals (which Heather McPherson should also do, since the Liberals are very popular in her riding and she just lost the leadership to Lewis). Soon they’ll lose Alexandre Boulerice (their last Quebec MP), probably because he can see what a clown car the party is right now.
I don’t think Jagmeet lost seats because of the agreement with the Liberals. I think he lost seats because many voters in his base were concerned about Trump’s “51st state” comments and ended up voting strategically for the Liberals out of fear about Canada’s political stability and international position.
I also recognize that I am naturally inclined to like Avi Lewis because he represents a left-wing academic perspective that I probably identify with myself. However, this approach runs counter to what many voters in Alberta and Saskatchewan are looking for. His challenge is to communicate that his fight is not with Alberta or Saskatchewan as provinces, but with an owning class that has exploited workers and communities across all provinces for personal gain, while encouraging people to fight each other instead of holding economic power structures accountable.
BC leader also doesn’t seem too pleased
From Eby’s X account yesterday:
„Congratulations to @avilewis on being elected as the federal leader by NDP members, and thank you to @DonDavies for your service as interim leader. Here in BC, we are strengthening public healthcare by bringing in hundreds of doctors and nurses. We are tackling the housing crisis by building tens of thousands of homes. In unstable times, our Look West plan is growing our economy and creating good, union jobs in the industries that power our province like mining, energy and tech. We are speeding up approvals by working with local communities and Indigenous people. Our priority is lifting up working people and growing prosperity. We will work with anyone and any federal leader who shares our priorities, and stand firm against those who put that progress at risk.“