Tom Mulcair failed last night to retain leadership of the
federal New Democratic Party (NDP), even though he often scared the pants off
Stephen Harper in last Parliament's Question Period - and was even leading in the polls - for
quite some time during the last election.
The reasons are simple: Mulcair actually imitated Harper too much, and while quite
a bright man, Mulcair lacks sufficient imagination.
Muclair imitated Harper on two significant issues: the apparent need for a balanced budget, which put him out of step with a wide swath among the NDP (allowing
Trudeau to outflank him). And he
followed Harper’s coattails on the Senate:
Harper was poised to ‘starve’ the Senate and bring about so-called
reform by not appointing any more Senators, even though it was his constitutional
duty to do so. When Mulcair was riding
high in the polls he became obsessed with ideas of Senate reform in much the same unconstitutional
manner – one that was implicitly dependant on Harper’s resolution not to
appoint any more Senators (one promise that Harper did keep). While Mulcair eyed a disingenuous frontal assault
on the Constitution Trudeau showed more imagination by removing the partisanship of
“Liberal” Senators already in the Upper Chamber.
This brings us to the crux of the matter: both Mulcair and
Trudeau have degrees from McGill University: Mulcair has a Law Degree and
Trudeau an undergraduate Arts Degree.
But Mulcair does not have an undergraduate degree from any
university. He went from a CEGEP (a two
year post-secondary college system only in Quebec) to Law School, and in
Mulcair’s day and age this was accepted practice for bright students. But because he missed out on an undergraduate
experience Mulcair’s education lacks breadth – and with it often comes expanded imagination. In other words Mulcair was
very able as Leader of the Opposition in responding to Harper’s specific policies (Bill C-51, and the
like), but he was unable to build a successful platform of his own, one with vision.
This helps explain why Mulcair’s final speech to the NDP at the end of the
Convention was a clear disappointment to previously undecided voters.
Post Mulcair, however, the NDP will remain ever divided, thrashing it out over pipelines between the “Leap Manifesto” of scion Avi Lewis and well-known author Naomi Klein (the two are married) and the Alberta NDP government under Rachel Notley. Without Mulcair the NDP will likely flounder, and the Liberal “honeymoon” will extend itself ... as each of the two main parliamentary party competitors on the Left and on the Right are now undergoing a leadership process.
Post Mulcair, however, the NDP will remain ever divided, thrashing it out over pipelines between the “Leap Manifesto” of scion Avi Lewis and well-known author Naomi Klein (the two are married) and the Alberta NDP government under Rachel Notley. Without Mulcair the NDP will likely flounder, and the Liberal “honeymoon” will extend itself ... as each of the two main parliamentary party competitors on the Left and on the Right are now undergoing a leadership process.
