An article in the Toronto Star (here) suggested that the Liberal Party of Canada and the NDP should agree to a temporary ceasefire for the next election. The specifics of this non-aggression pact envisioned by the Star are:
- In each riding, the party whose candidate fared worst in the last election would pull its current candidate out, or refrain from nominating one.
- No effort would be made to coordinate platforms, though the absence of debilitating head-to-head races between Liberals and New Democrats would direct both parties' attention onto the Conservatives.
- Anyone who uses the word “Coalition” from either party would be immediately killed.
- The only post-election condition in the agreement should be an unqualified public commitment to holding a national referendum on proportional representation within the first year.
- The ceasefire agreement, once struck, could be expanded to include the Green party, which has always sought proportional representation and would benefit substantially from it.
I have written about my opposition to PR (here) and the continuing existence of the Green Party (here) in the past but the idea of some soft of non-Conservative alliance has been tempting.
The NDP are fond of accusing the Liberals of hating them more than we hate Conservatives. Personally, I don't hate members of the CPC, NDP or BQ but I do disagree with many of their positions and many of their tactics.
What I find agreeable about the Star's alliance proposal:
The Liberals and the NDP are too competitive over issues we agree upon. When it comes to the environment, social welfare, immigration, the arts and crime we should really be working together. The division between the Liberal Party/NDP/Bloc on these issues has allowed Stephen Harper to get away with his narrow minded agenda.
The fighting between the Liberal Party and the NDP has also split the vote in many ridings allowing Conservative candidates to win, this is how Prime Minister Harper has been able to stay in government for four years.
The fact that the alliance would end immediately after the election would be helpful as it would calm some of the fears the CPC would try and stir up among Canadians.
What I find disagreeable about the Star alliance proposal:
Proportional representation is not the answer and it is also not Liberal policy. Proportional representation weakens democracy by putting all its emphasis on the political parties, putting unelected party members in parliament (as some are chosen off a "list) and creating huge ridings that are disconnected from the voters.
Basing an alliance on a concession to the NDP would make the Liberal Party look weak.
Many voters would be turned off by what they would see as a subversion of democracy. In my riding Olivia Chow is the MP and if the Liberal Party didn't run a candidate I would consider protest voting.
The Liberal Party needs all the money it can get and not running candidates in ridings means not getting the subsidy.
You can't just expect voters to vote the Liberal/NDP in their riding automatically. Voter turnout could go down (which means another Con victory) or those voters could vote Conservative.
The Equivocator's Solution:
What I would actually like to see is the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party pick 3 issues and sign a "Joint Policy Declaration." This would entail each of these parties negotiating a compromise solution on three or so big issues that we almost agree upon. The parties/leaders have months to hammer out the details. This would let the parties change the debate on 3 issues, it would generate positive free media and make the Liberals/NDP look bipartisan. All of the effects take positive attention away from Stephen Harper while ensuring that the public debate is not in his favour on the issues he is so wrong on while highlighting how the Prime Minister has been a partisan boor for four long years.
The issues I would select would be: crime, the environment and health care.
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Sunday, November 8, 2009
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