Monday, December 06, 2010

Has the NDP's time come? (Not in a good way)

From an editorial in Tuesday's Times Colonist on Carole James and the NDP:

"More critically, perhaps, the affair raises the possibility that the NDP is simply not able to perform the role of an effective opposition.
That role goes beyond critiquing issues and holding the government to account. The opposition party must have a credible chance of being elected to govern to fulfil its role. Without that, the party in power has no need to moderate its positions or listen to community concerns. The existence of a viable government-in-waiting on the other side of the legislature is critical in encouraging government responsiveness.
Yet over almost 50 years, the NDP has failed to build a broad base of support. Its three election victories all came when two centre-right parties split the vote."


The editorial is here.

1 comment:

Norm Farrell said...

Inarguable.