Yesterday I mentioned Andrew Coyne's article regarding the descision that the NDP has made/is making regarding the future balance of power and I speculated as follows:
...Does Jack Layton want to find a "third-way" and position his party as the Party of the Left or does he want the NDP to continue as the Conscience of the Left? Does he want to position the NDP as a party to run the country or as the party that forces the Liberal Party to enact liberal policy?
I am glad to see a Progressive Blogger took a shot at answering this question because it was entirely an honest question and the answer is non-obvious. Here is how the Idealistic Pragmatist (nice name btw) responds.
...Of course, "position yourselves as the Party of the Left" sounds a lot cooler than "sacrifice a good chunk of your principles for the promise of power," which is how it ended up going with the social democratic parties in the UK and Germany, and with the Democrats in the U.S.
...Well, I won't speak for any NDPer but myself, but I'm quite honestly okay with never seeing power on a federal level if the alternative means a drift to the centre. There's already a centrist party in Canada; the last thing we need is another one. Working to make sure the Liberals stay liberal is far from ideal, but it's far preferable to becoming the Liberals and leaving a sucking vacuum to the left of us. If we can remain a strong voice for the issues we care about, whether in opposition or in a coalition--and actually force some of our ideas to be implemented--who but the most self-serving power-mongers can really object to that?
Is it time for a "Fourth Way" (he says half jokingly) where left parties campaign and govern from the left - where right parties campaign and govern from the right? And I am stuck in the middle with you?
