Outcry signs of NDP house divided

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FULL CLOSE CUT CLOSECUT - KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS / NOV. 16 2010 ������ The Greg Selinger NDP government delivers it's final Throne Speech before the next provincial election at the Manitoba Legislature ������ MB Premier Greg Selinger give pre Throne speech newser in lockup

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   • Selinger pivotal in move to shun party directive

It wasn't exactly a rebellion. More like a sudden, somewhat unexpected outburst or a tantrum designed to draw attention.

Whatever you want to call it, last weekend's angry rebuke of the governing New Democratic Party executive by rank-and-file members is a strong indication there are rumblings of discontent deep with this party's core.

The spat erupted at the NDP's annual general meeting over the party executive's decision to refuse a $1.25-per-vote subsidy guaranteed to registered political parties by law. For the NDP, fresh off its fourth consecutive majority, the subsidy works out to be about $250,000 per year or nearly $1 million between elections.

Party members passed motions at the 2011 and 2012 AGMs to continue accepting the subsidy. Despite this, the executive decided to take a pass. This caused several high-profile members to rebuke the executive for disregarding the motions. It also convinced party president Lorraine Sigurdson to resign her post and not run for re-election. "I have to tell you I'm exceedingly pissed off about it," an angry Susan Hart-Kulbaba, a former MFL president, told delegates at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg. "We don't come here to sit here and make policy and not have it followed."

Publicly calling out the executive is humiliating for Premier Greg Selinger, and a strong signal that he may not have control over his party. Still, it's hard to understand how this issue became the spark for this outburst.

The subsidy was a compromise when the NDP outlawed union and corporate donations. However, since it was introduced four years ago, the opposition Progressive Conservatives have effectively made the subsidy a political hot potato, decrying it as a misuse of public funds and refusing to accept it. The NDP continued to support the subsidy, defending it during last fall's general election campaign.

However, faced with a growing deficit and increasing political pressure to get it under control, Selinger decided now was not the time for the party to continue taking a taxpayer subsidy for election expenses. It was not hard to see the method in Selinger's madness. At a time when he was trying desperately to project an image of austerity, the vote subsidy seemed to be a luxury the taxpayers couldn't afford. Passing on this year's subsidy would in essence take this issue out of the opposition's arsenal.

Some high-profile members didn't appreciate the logic. Opinion leaders in the party, including many influential labour leaders, decried this incident as a crime against internal party democracy -- even though in most parties, it's accepted that a governing party takes such motions as advice, reserving the right to make the final decision.

Those condemning the party executive would have to be pretty naive to think somehow, after 13 years of majority government, the rules of this game have changed. That is, of course, if this was not a calculated naiveté designed to send a message to the top of the NDP hierarchy.

The relationship between organized labour and the NDP has been strained lately. Over the past two years, the NDP has asked for and obtained wage freezes from public-sector unions, while at the same time introducing legislation governing public-private partnerships -- a real thorn in the side of unions -- that did not come nearly close enough to meeting the labour agenda. Labour has been pretty muted in their responses to these issues, but lately there are signs union leaders are losing their patience with this government.

Just last week, the Manitoba Federation of Labour announced it would like to see a one-point bump in the provincial sales tax to support infrastructure. It's an idea that is seeing increasing support but it is extremely unpopular in Selinger's office, where there are fears the Tories would use the tax hike to bludgeon the NDP in the next election. Announcing a policy such as that was widely viewed as dirty pool by those NDP partisans in government.

What does this mean for Selinger? Condemned to be forever compared to his successful predecessor, Gary Doer, last weekend's shenanigans will do nothing to convince rank-and-file party members that Selinger is worthy of leading this party over the long term. Selinger has recently completely retooled his inner circle, bringing in long-standing confidants and dispatching the last of the Doer loyalists, most notably former chief of staff Michael Balagus.

Selinger's decision to part ways with Balagus is material to last weekend's drama. Balagus was a stern -- some would say too stern -- right hand of the premier who proved his worth in many ways. Not the least of which was his ability to convince dissidents to back away from resolutions that might ultimately embarrass the premier. Perhaps no one, including Balagus, could have talked these dissidents down off this ledge. But it is important to note this was the first party AGM since Selinger effectively asked for, and received, Balagus's resignation.

The big question now is whether the dissident factions will continue their spat, allowing it to grow from a rebuke into a full-out rebellion. Either way, Selinger has some work to do before next year's AGM because either he has lost control of some elements within his party, or they have lost their sense of humour about his style of leadership.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 5, 2012 A4