Scandals and incompetence sinking the once-mighty NDP

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This article was published 18/12/2016 (3499 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Political opinion writers usually spend most of their time analyzing and criticizing the performance of governing parties. And with good reason.

The governing party has immense responsibilities and with them come the burden of nearly constant scrutiny and criticism.

That does not mean, however, that the official opposition gets off scot-free. The opposition has responsibilities of its own that, if not performed competently, can do as much damage as an unaccountable government.

This is more or less where we find the Manitoba New Democratic Party. Thrashed in the last election and reduced to just 14 seats, the NDP has struggled mightily with its new role as official opposition. It will require time to adjust to the shock and humiliation of a repudiation at the polls.

And yet, a relentless string of embarrassments and self-inflicted wounds suffered by the NDP defies all logical explanation. This is not a party going through a difficult transition; it is a party that has lost all sense of purpose and identity.

The most recent example of this is perhaps the most disturbing. Interim Leader Flor Marcelino failed profoundly in her handling of an allegation of sexual harassment against NDP MLA Mohinder Saran. Marcelino personally intervened in the process to seek a remedy with the woman involved, not realizing that these efforts could be misconstrued as a bid to cover up the allegations. Her actions were only corrected after she went to her caucus, where several MLAs demanded Saran be suspended and an official investigation be launched.

If that were the worst of it, the NDP might have recovered. But the Free Press subsequently reported Saran had been the subject of an earlier sexual harassment complaint while the NDP was still in power. That allegation appears to have been successfully covered up. The woman involved was transferred into the premier’s office and Saran was not subjected to any form of discipline.

Part of this debacle is due to the mistakes in judgment of the former government, although there are questions about exactly who knew Saran had been accused of sexual harassment. Many in that government clearly knew nothing of the incident. However, a big part of the problem started with Marcelino’s appointment as interim leader.

Former premier Greg Selinger, who remains the MLA for St. Boniface, co-ordinated support within caucus for Marcelino as interim leader. Concerns were raised about whether the amicable Marcelino was up to the task. She herself publicly admitted it was an odd choice, largely because she had previously undergone brain surgery, a procedure that had diminished her short-term memory. No matter, Selinger and his allies elevated her to leader.

It was impossible at that time to anticipate something of the gravity of the Saran scandal would arise. But it did and now the decision to put Marcelino in her current position seems foolish indeed. This was confirmed last week when she finally responded to requests for an interview on the Saran scandal.

In an email responding to questions posed by the Free Press, Marcelino actually revealed the first name of the woman who launched the latest complaint against Saran. That information is highly confidential and of course no news organization would publish the name of the complainant unless she willingly agreed to tell her story. By inadvertently revealing this information, Marcelino certainly calls into question her suitability to serve as leader.

How did the once-mighty NDP get to this woeful place?

It didn’t happen overnight, although the long slide into dysfunction seems to have coincided with Selinger’s election as leader in 2009. From that point, the NDP went from a sophisticated political machine to a rat’s nest of infighting and incompetence that continues to limit its effectiveness in its current role.

The central problem the NDP faces in its new role as official opposition is the belief that its primary function is to protect the reputation of the former government. That is a fundamentally flawed concept. The NDP is now the official opposition in the Manitoba legislature, and as such, has a solemn, constitutional responsibility to hold the government of the day to account.

It would be incorrect to say NDP critics haven’t had a few good days when the PC government felt the sting of accountability. This is, after all, a government that has had profound difficulty performing some of the simplest duties.

More importantly, the Tories have demonstrated a tendency, even a robust willingness, to distort the truth and manipulate facts.

In other words, there is ammunition here for any reasonably competent opposition party. The NDP is still struggling to achieve that basic level of competence.

Far too often, NDP critics in the legislature get sucked into melodrama in attacking the government. They wave their arms in mock indignation and demand apologies from ministers for all manner of crimes against society. Lost in all that performance art, however, are the true opportunities to force the government to account for some of its decisions.

The NDP will not pick a permanent leader until the fall of 2017. Before then, the official opposition will have to respond to another provincial budget that is expected to be long on austerity and short on new spending. As Pallister struggles with the fiscal challenges of retiring a budget deficit at a time of anemic economic growth, the official opposition will have a very important role in making sure the government fulfils its election pledges to protect core services.

That cannot be done if the NDP is too busy responding to scandals and allegations of incompetence.

Responsible government is like the tango; it takes two — a competent government and a competent opposition — to do it well.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca