The media’s extended period of mourning for Jack Layton could be viewed as the fallen leader’s final gift to his beloved NDP. Any coverage that postpones the inevitable scrutiny of an NDP without Layton is time the NDP brass can use to figure out the best spin to put on the party’s leadership travails.
Clearly the NDP executive must have known, better than most, the seriousness of Layton’s condition and must have considered the probability that Layton would never be able to return to the leadership role. This begs the question of the political acumen of the NDP in acclaiming a candidate for leader with the political baggage of Nycole Trumel.
That most of those in the NDP view the world through a unique prism is a given, but to elevate a hard line Marxist with direct ties to extreme left separatist groups to be the Leader of the “Loyal” Opposition is puzzling political calculus indeed.
The NDP’s most recent iteration starring Layton as “Smilin’ Jack” leader of the Orange Crush was much more an invention of the CBC and others in the media than a seismic shift in Canadian politics. Layton’s NDP was the unwitting beneficiary of a chronically misinformed Quebec electorate that is running out of parties other than the Conservatives for which to vote.
The vast majority of Canadians, to borrow the logic of the left, voted against Layton in May. In Quebec polling indicates most of separatist Quebecois who voted for the NDP cast their vote for Layton, the rest cast a vote against Harper. Dippers in the rest of Canada voted for the tired and true socialist ideals of the NDP, never expecting their guys and gals to have to actually do anything other than continue third party whining in Parliament. Status as the official opposition was an unwelcome surprise to most.
The result of the incompetent Liberal campaign, and the disaffection of the Bloc in Quebec is an official opposition comprising avowed faculty lounge socialists and a shell shocked collection of rookie Quebec MP’s representing folks in Quebec that riot for independence from Canada while gladly spending Alberta’s money. Jack Layton’s legacy, should there be one, will be that he alone was able, for awhile anyway, to lead this disparate crew.
With Layton’s passing, the virtually unleadable NDP is missing the only guy who had a chance. For some reason the NDP doesn’t seem to grasp they have lost what little credibility Layton brought them with the appointment of Trumel as leader. Casting an eye down the NDP’s bench for a permanent leader to replace Trumel, leaves little else to desire.
Stephen Harper stickhandled his way through two minority governments and finally got his majority. The Conservatives could probably not believe their good fortune when Layton and his new look NDP emerged as the Official Opposition. While Layton’s passing is tragic to his family, friends and followers, replacing Layton, whether with the suspect Trumel, or any of the pretenders for the throne represents another opportunity for the Conservatives to advance their agenda.
This version of the NDP will be as ineffectual an opposition as Parliament has ever seen. The fractures between the old school English speaking socialists and the Francophone nationalists within the NDP will soon become apparent. Even with Layton’s leadership the NDP was in danger of falling apart. Without Layton the party’s demise is virtually assured. That may be the sad legacy of Jack Layton’s political career.
Mark Walker is the publisher of the Penticton Western News.
