Like most political hacks in Canada, I read with interest the rumours, apparently well-sourced and highly placed, that the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party are discussing what a merger would look like between their two parties. The original CBC story is here, and since that time Bob Rae has come out to provide some official denials. And even within the original story heavyweights like David Herle speak against it, as well as a fairly clear quote from Michael Ignatieff – but denials aside, I saw Peter McKay make similar denials about mergers that were equally if not more clear and he still has a job, so I wouldn’t put too much in the public denials. That doesn’t mean I think a merger will happen, because I don’t.
If it were to happen though what would it look like? And what would change in Canadian politics?
If the two parties merged for the transparently obvious reason of winning the next election and kicking out Stephen Harper from Sussex Drive I think it would go along way to taking Canada down the path to a two-party system. I would even hazard a guess that it may lead us to a formalized two party system like the United States has. I’m not necessarily opposed to a de facto two-party state, but leaving the power to reform the electoral system in the hands of only the Democrats and the Republicans in the United States hasn’t necessarily served that country well. Here in Canada, while I remain a fan of the electoral finance changes, my main knock against them is how hard it will be to effectively start a new party. In order to get public money for your party you need votes. In order to gain votes, you need the ads and organization money can buy. In order to get public money… you get the picture. In a world with only two parties plus the Bloc the system will serve to entrench itself possibly to the point that we will never see a new party develop.
I also worry that the system will become more bitter, more partisan and more the things we hate about politics. I must confess, when the idea of a merger on the right was proposed I didn’t see that shift coming. Since 2003 the level of rhetoric and partisanship has steadily increased within the ranks of the Conservative Party of Canada – well beyond the barbs thrown during the time of the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance/Progressive Conservatives. They knew who the enemy was and knew what would work to gain power. The Liberal Democrats would be no different – never really working with the Conservatives to govern, never letting up in painting the Conservatives like demons.
In my mind the best thing about the CPC merger was the end of the one party plus system of governance, where only the Liberals had a competitive shot at forming government. It increased the options for Canadian governance, making elections matter more. The proposed merger does the opposite, decreasing the possibilities for Canadian governance and entrenching that choice.
The merger makes any form of coalition government impossible (Between who? The Bloc and one of the two main parties?) and it reduces the flexibility of Parliament.
I hope the two parties think carefully about the path they are going down. Coalitions, especially when done with greater legitimacy and foresight than the attempt two years ago, offer an opportunity of interest and compromise that I dread will be lost in the new two party system. And not just coalitions, but parliamentary cooperation and the diversity of interactions between civil society and political parties.
As I was wrong about exactly the kind of political situation that developed from the right-wing merger I may be wrong about the consequences of this one. But I don’t see it leading Canadians to the centre, rather to two polarized extremes.
- posted 5 days ago
