A political party鈥檚 leadership race can be an opportunity to hear fresh ideas, air platforms in public and rejuvenate party membership. But it can also be divisive and draining, something the sa国际传媒 New Democrats can鈥檛 afford. John Horgan鈥檚 almost-certain acclamation presents opportunities for a party that needs to regroup and rebuild.
Barring the highly improbable event that someone else will toss a hat into the ring, Horgan will become the leader of the sa国际传媒 NDP next month. The only other declared candidate, Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth, stepped aside this week after reading the clear writing on the wall.
It didn鈥檛 take deep analysis to see that Horgan, the MLA for Juan de Fuca, had lined up significant support from members of the NDP caucus, party members and labour, and that Farnworth would be running from way behind. Bowing out and throwing his support behind Horgan was the sensible thing to do.
Adrian Dix announced last September that he would step aside as party leader as soon as his replacement was chosen. The party had set the leadership convention for Sept. 28, 2014, but Horgan鈥檚 acclamation would render that unnecessary.
Horgan announced in October that he wouldn鈥檛 seek the leadership, citing the need for a 鈥渘ext generation鈥� leader and concerns about the acrimony and divisiveness that could arise in the race. But the next generation didn鈥檛 step forward. In fact, the only stepping for the first few months was in the other direction, as one prominent New Democrat after another announced they wouldn鈥檛 seek the leadership.
On March 2, Farnworth announced his candidacy and said his campaign would kick off some time in the ensuing two weeks. On the other hand, when Horgan announced his candidacy two weeks later, he hit the ground running, with a plan already in place.
Two contrasting candidates would have made for an interesting and useful leadership contest. Instead, it promised to look like a rerun of the 2011 leadership campaign in which the candidates 鈥� Dix, Farnworth and Horgan 鈥� spent much of the time agreeing with each other鈥檚 positions. It was more of a love-in than a competition.
Rather than trying to contrive differences for the sake of competition, Horgan and Farnworth have decided to use their commonalities for the good of the party.
With the sa国际传媒 NDP still bruised from the drubbing it received in the 2013 election, it鈥檚 best that energies be devoted to strengthening the party. The New Democrats should focus on the faults of the Liberals, rather than finding fault with each other.
That doesn鈥檛 mean all is well in the NDP camp. The party needs to decide and define what it is, to find out what British Columbians want if it is to be a credible alternative to the sa国际传媒 Liberals in the next election.
Much has been made of the inaccuracy of the polls that indicated the NDP would win the 2013 election, but the polls weren鈥檛 entirely wrong. The results could be interpreted as dissatisfaction with the Liberal government, a desire for positive change. But the New Democrats failed to convince the public that they offered something better, and voters settled for the devil they knew.
While a leadership contest might have made for good political theatre, good government is far more important. A vigorous and effective opposition is essential to good government, and an opposition鈥檚 effectiveness is questionable if it is not prepared and qualified to step up and take the reins.
