The leadership lost: Hopefuls reflect on future

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/03/2015 (4171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Theresa Oswald: No regrets

THERESA Oswald said she doesn’t regret her part in the caucus rebellion that prompted the NDP’s divisive leadership contest.

“I know that I made the decision that I needed to make, morally and ethically given the situation with which I was faced,” she said Sunday after coming within a whisker of becoming Manitoba’s first female premier. She lost to Greg Selinger on the second ballot by just 33 votes.

Oswald was one of five cabinet ministers who spoke publicly of their concerns about Selinger’s leadership last fall. They said Selinger had little chance of winning the 2016 election after breaking a promise not to raise the PST.

On Sunday, she stood by her actions, but said the party had spoken, and she respected its decision. She even joined fellow leadership candidate Steve Ashton onstage to make a motion declaring Selinger’s victory unanimous.

“I think when you stand up for what you believe in and you try your best, even if you don’t win in the end, then it’s not for nothing, it’s for everything. Because it’s about showing who you are in victory and in defeat,” she said.

Oswald was unclear about her political future, saying she would consult with her family before announcing whether she would seek re-election in Seine River.

But she pledged to work hard for her party in whatever role she’s given.

“I believe that I did the very best that I could, and it didn’t go my way today, but I promised the members that I would work hard, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

She also praised her campaign team for its efforts. “I know that we ran the best darn campaign that we could.”

With her loss, Oswald changed her tune about the party’s election prospects with Selinger at the helm.

Asked if the NDP could win in 2016, she said: “Well, absolutely. I think we have to be completely optimistic about our prospects because we know that voters have been with us for election after election. And we’re going to have to work extra hard to remind them about why that was so and to invite them to come back.”

Before speaking with reporters, Oswald hugged her son, Jack, 9, and kissed her husband, Sam.

Despite what must have been a crushing defeat, she kept her trademark sense of humour.

Picking up on a joke made by Selinger onstage about delegates probably needing to go home and do their laundry, Oswald told reporters: “I have to say I agree with the premier on the subject of laundry. There’s no question that will be a priority.”

Asked whether she and her fellow rebels would be formally rejoining the NDP caucus, she said such a decision is “kind of out of my hands.”

As for whether she thinks she will ever be a cabinet minister again, she said: “Oh, that’s up to the big guy — I haven’t even thought about it.”

— Larry Kusch

 

Steve Ashton: Time for unity

HIS leadership hopes thwarted on the first ballot, Steve Ashton pleaded for party solidarity Sunday and pledged to work with whomever was elected leader.

“The key message I had was unity, and that applies win, lose or draw,” said Ashton as he released his delegates, allowing them to vote how they wanted on the second ballot.

Many, nearly 200, failed to vote at all on the second ballot, adding fuel to speculation Ashton’s delegate support was soft. Though he signed up hundreds of members and won several big-delegate ridings during the long string of delegate-selection meetings, some of his delegates failed to follow through with a vote at Sunday’s convention.

For much of the campaign, Ashton was the front-runner, though he failed to pick up much support among party stalwarts, and his supporters made up the smallest gaggle on the convention floor.

Ashton, the Thompson MLA and former infrastructure minister, fell 73 votes short in first balloting, following a speech that emphasized the need to overcome the party’s recent turmoil.

Ashton would not offer any criticism of rivals Theresa Oswald or Premier Greg Selinger. Ashton said he hasn’t badmouthed either rival during what’s been a divisive race.

“My campaign ended 20 minutes ago, and I’m not going to start now,” said Ashton.

Shortly after the announcement, the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, strong Ashton supporters, walked a short distance over to Selinger’s area on the convention floor, indicating they were throwing their weight behind the premier in the second ballot.

— Mary Agnes Welch