Putting Humpty back together again

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/03/2015 (4042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The big question now — can Humpty Dumpty be put back together again? With Premier Greg Selinger surviving his great fall — a revolt from five of his cabinet members — his razor-thin leadership victory makes it clear he doesn’t have the support of all the king’s horses and all the king’s men to put the NDP back together again.

Mr. Selinger’s win Sunday over Theresa Oswald on the second ballot was by a hair — just 33 votes. Put another way, Mr. Selinger won the leadership with only 51 per cent of the vote in the second ballot. Hardly a resounding mandate. And it signals just how much work lies ahead for both the premier and the party. Heading into work on Broadway today, there is a pressing need to get back to the business of governing and focus on the economy with a budget that takes deficit reduction seriously.

Mr. Selinger’s first job is to rebuild the government apparatus that has been weakened and depleted as a result of the party revolt, including the loss of strong political operatives who work behind the scenes. This will be a delicate task. He cannot shun everyone because they were disloyal, although obviously some key former aides will need to look elsewhere for jobs. It’s not clear when and how the premier will extend the olive branch to those who worked on other campaigns, but finding places for those who opposed him would go a long way to build party unity.

The Gang of Five, along with Nancy Allan and Ron Lemieux, who also supported Ms. Oswald and Mr. Ashton, have talent that should not be squandered. They also represent a significant portion of voters from within the party. If the premier wants to move forward, he cannot turn his back on their support, and he must find a way to entice them back to the fold, to use their expertise.

Mr. Selinger said after his win the race highlighted the party’s vitality, and the party is stronger now, with more members and with finances in decent shape. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s clear the leadership race exposed deep unhappiness with Mr. Selinger. Indeed, one party insider working for Ms. Oswald compared Sunday’s outcome to the Jonestown massacre of 1978. A tad hyperbolic certainly, but indicative of just how poisonous the environment is right now. As distasteful as it may be for Mr. Selinger, he will have to find a way to embrace those who stood against him. At the same time, he can’t turf members of the current cabinet who have remained loyal. Ms. Oswald and the others may have to wait for the next cabinet shuffle, which probably won’t occur until after the election, assuming the NDP win, which is still a long shot.

The next important piece of business has to be the budget. While Mr. Selinger made reference Sunday to the economy and the Conference Board of Canada’s prediction Manitoba will be one of the leading provincial economies in 2015 and 2016, he and the NDP can hardly take credit for that rosy outlook. Indeed, the Conference Board made it clear the only reason Manitoba is expected to do so well is because other provinces are doing poorly.

Mr. Selinger resisted making expensive promises during the leadership campaign, so there should be no surprises in the next budget. And now, his government’s focus should be on getting spending in line and getting rid of the deficit.

For five long months, the premier and the government have not been focusing on what’s good for all of Manitoba.

Instead, the leadership race has taken up far too much time and attention. Now is the time to refocus and regroup. And put Humpty back together again for all of Manitoba.