That is a theme of increasing prominance and Arthur Weinreb has an interesting take on it (i.e. a take from the right) in the Canada Free Press.
...Ryan correctly points out that there will be some in the Liberal Party who are simply too right wing to agree to a merger with the NDP. They would simply go over to the Conservatives, much like Scott Brison, who crossed over to the Liberals. The thought of a merger between the Liberals and the NDP may appear laughable but hardly impossible at a time in the future.
This is my question as well. The merged CPC has not polled as high as the CA and PC did individually (or if you want to rebuild the Mulroney coalition you can throw in the BQ) and it is very likely that a merged Liberal Democrat party could either. There are many supporters of the NDP who do not believe that the Liberals are a progressive party and would not take kindly to such a merger. I would expect that this hard-left would quickly join and refashion the Green Party to reflect their European cousins. Further, how many Blue Grits or even socon Grits would leave to join the Conservatives.
It is pretty clear to me that combined vote would be a lot closer to 40-42% than their combined 47% but wouldn't an election be pretty interesting with two parties hovering around 40%? And if the BQ's vote could evaporate even further then things get really fun.
Comments (5)
I don’t think you’ll see drift to the Greens in this scenario — the Greens have yet to shake off their “one issue” reputation, and any left-wing party needs to encompass the entire political issue spectrum.
Also, the Liberals would need a defeat on the level of 1983 to even seriously consider a merger. I think they still believe their “consensus-politics” model to be a strong one, just in need of a change in personnel.
Posted by PhantomObserver | March 6, 2006 11:27 AM
Posted on March 6, 2006 11:27
Hey, a sensible take on this issue! Well played. I’m not eager to see a merger, for precisely those reasons. People seem to forget, for a lot of us, we don’t see a lot of difference between the LPC and CPC. In the event of a such merger, I would probably be politically homeless.
Posted by RP. | March 6, 2006 11:56 AM
Posted on March 6, 2006 11:56
Feh. If the Liberals want to unite the left, they can help the country get proportional representation, clean up their act enough to win an election, and unite with the NDP in a coalition. Until then, they can quit their whining.
Posted by Idealistic Pragmatist | March 6, 2006 12:59 PM
Posted on March 6, 2006 12:59
I don’t see it happening unless the NDP essentially give up. The right of the Liberal Party is more likely to just keep the former Dippers in check than to abandon the cause.
Posted by Jason Cherniak | March 6, 2006 1:45 PM
Posted on March 6, 2006 13:45
I fear that, under a de facto two party system, you would polarize politics and make the spirit of compromise that much harder to achieve. In the United States, I believe that most voters actually find themselves between the medians of the Republican and Democratic parties, but because of the system they operate under, both parties tend to cater more towards their extremes, leading the moderates two equally unpalatable options to pick.
Where do the centrists fall under this scenario? In my opinion, the political system works best when there is multiple parties, with one hugging the centre and taking in the best ideas from the voices on either side.
Posted by James Bow | March 6, 2006 6:57 PM
Posted on March 6, 2006 18:57