Tom Mulcair and the NDP will need all the help they can get for the 2015 election. It's too bad Tommy burned his bridge to the Green Party.
“Over the last two years, I found Justin Trudeau to be collaborative and friendly,” May told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.
For the Saanich–Gulf Islands MP, collaboration is important. During the Green party’s convention last summer, she received a mandate to seek cooperation with the NDP and the Liberal party to defeat Stephen Harper and the ruling Conservatives.
Her experience so far with New Democrats has been “discouraging”. Last December, she wrote to NDP and Liberal MPs on the subject of electoral cooperation.
“It was a personal and confidential letter, but the NDP made it public and attacked me for sending it,” May recalled. “And Tom Mulcair prohibited his members from answering my letter.”
Although Mulcair and Trudeau have both stated they are not interested in the idea of an electoral alliance, the Green leader believes she may have a better chance of success with Trudeau.
“I think he’ll be much more open to cooperation…at least with the Greens, than will Tom Mulcair,” May said.
I don't know what it is with Mulcair but he comes across as a guy who has never seen a bridge he didn't want to set afire.
Puhleeeaze. Ms. May has been cozying up to the Liberals and slagging the NDP since she was elected leader of the Greens. There was never, ever a bridge, so Mulcair couldn't have burnt it, even if he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if this is almost because the Greens and NDP are closer in their outlooks and policy--well, that intersecting with our FPTP electoral system.
ReplyDeleteBasically, the Greens cannot grow unless the NDP crashes. The reverse isn't quite as true, but still the NDP will have a distinctly tougher time in an environment of resurgent Greens. Worse, under FPTP this can be a negative-sum game. The spectre of vote-splitting looms over any proposed co-operation.
Okay, Anon, settle down. She reached out to your Tommy boy in a confidential letter. He went public with it and tried to tear a strip off her. Then again Tommy has been screwing up so many things for so long now. It's almost as though he's a plant for the LPC. Oh, oh, pretend I didn't say that. Don't let that thought into your mind. Sure, he was a Liberal before but that's all in the past. Sure it is.
ReplyDeletePLG, I don't know about the shared interests of the Greens and NDP. May, of course, was a PC aide before Harper took over. Of course, given the sharp drift to the right today by the New Dems and Libs, it can be confusing to sort out which party actually stands where. I think any fair reading of the Green platform would treat it as progressive.
If Canada had a proportional system of voting Harper would not be prime minister. This I don`t think will change under a Liberal government
ReplyDeleteThe system is the problem.
Everyone should be entitled to their vote, and it should be reflected in the amount of representation.
I didn't always agree with you, Chuck, but I do now.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth May wasn't exactly a PC Aide, she played a role as a special advisor during the Acid Rain treaty negotiations between the Mulroney and Reagan administrations. Good policy doesn't always have partisan connotations. But I think that May is playing out the last cards in the GPC's hand. Their local EDA's are collapsing en masse, as they can no longer fin d people to act as EDA executives, and file annually with elections canada. She is attempting to bargain based on the perceived strength of the GPC, before the next general election comes and demonstrates publicly that their polled support cannot be counted on Eday unless they actually field candidates everywhere.
ReplyDeleteHi BGB. I hope your forecast of a GPC demise doesn't come to pass.
ReplyDelete