A “New Liberal” or a lost hope?
So on Thursday I did a couple of interviews with some political scientists regarding the state of the opposition in Alberta. It didn’t turn into a story that we aired but I’ll make it into a blog because it’s interesting for political nerds.
Recently a new website popped up called newliberal.ca which is basically an essay about what needs to change with the grits in this province. In a nutshell the “new” liberal movement is a push to overhaul everything in the organization, from the constituency associations up to the executive council, except for the name. It even calls for a change of logo and colours.
So will this work for the official opposition or is this all a lost hope? I guess it all depends on who you talk to. Dr. Faron Ellis with Lethbridge College claims there is no hope for the Liberals even with a “new” in front of the name. He says despite what they do, the political climate in the province is setting them up to forever be losers. People in this province tend to see established opposition parties as inadequate because they can’t win elections.
This isn’t all opinion and speculation either, he has proof to back it up. Just look at the history of Alberta’s elections. In 1921 the Liberals were ousted by the newly formed United Farmers of Alberta, then in 1935 the Social Credit Party (also brand new by election time) practically swept the floor, and finally in 1971 Peter Lougheed’s rookie PC’s took the legislature and have never given it back.
What does this imply? Albertans want new parties, not old and tired oppositions. Ellis says if the PCs are to be thrown from power it will take a well organized new party to come out of the woodwork to do so.
But Duane Bratt with Mount Royal College isn’t as quick to try and pull a Preston Manning in the world of Alberta Politics. He says its not impossible for them to win under the “Liberal” name but it’s obvious the Liberal Party needs to completely overhaul itself to stand a fighting chance. New leader, new organization, new fundraising techniques…the whole shebang.
While that is what this “New Liberal” movement is calling for, Bratt says the written plan on the website has some flaws. First off the writers, a few younger members involved in the Liberal Party, haven’t identified what problems the party had in the last election. What did they exactly mess up during the campaign to screw up a perfect opportunity to advance their seat count? They also don’t talk about leadership…which is an issue that definitely needs to be addressed. Finally they don’t discuss policies. If you want to rebuild you need direction, otherwise you are an aimless party, you need something to stand for.
Bratt believes it’s not impossible but there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Both political scientists agree a merger with the NDP is not a good idea.
So what do you think should be done? Are you a disaffected Tory supporter who can stand the Liberals? Would you like to see a new party arise that is fiscally conservative and socially liberal?
Or are you a diehard Liberal who believes the organization can survive and claim victory if you just fix the problems with the party? Don’t say it can’t be done…Laurence Decore was a serious threat to the PC’s (probably the best leader for the party in the last 50-100 years) but unfortunately for the Liberals, he was the baby thrown out with the bath water when his team won 32 seats in 1993.