Roundup: Mulcair losing steam and support

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The wheels are starting to come off Thomas Mulcair’s continued leadership of the NDP, as more and more voices are starting to come out to question the direction of the party under his leadership – not that many of them will say that directly, but the implication is certainly there, considering that the whole point of Mulcair’s leadership was in large part for them to occupy more of the centre of the spectrum in their haste in believing that the Liberals were a spent force whose days were numbered. And it’s more than just the fringe socialist wing of the party that’s calling for his head. Yesterday, some thirty-seven NDP members from Quebec, including three former MPs, published an open letter calling for the party to renew itself, and one of those MPs was one of Mulcair’s biggest boosters during the leadership. Most damning was when he went on Power & Politics yesterday to say, and I quote, “I haven’t really heard a compelling reason for him to stay on.” During a press conference, Niki Ashton was asked repeatedly whether she supported Mulcair’s leadership, and she evaded every time, insisting instead on talking about the “team” rather than the individual. Given how much importance that the NDP place on solidarity and showing a united front, and how they treat any kind of public dissent as being unseemly (and sometimes even subject to punishment), Ashton’s silence was actually quite deafening. These new calls from the grassroots that the open letter was showcasing is showing the cracks in Mulcair’s mea culpa, and in the outreach efforts he’s made so far. The message is that he’s still not listening, and that could cost him. And on top of the questions we already had about his continued leadership – in no small part whether he can still be part of the generational change taking place in this country’s political ranks – it seems like the party also has to ask itself if they can really ask Mulcair to be a leopard who can change its spots. They brought Mulcair into the party for a reason, and gave him the leadership for a reason, and those reasons are no longer reflected on the political landscape, particularly if the Liberals keep outflanking them. People ask who are in the wings, and despite Nathan Cullen’s grand protests that he doesn’t want the job, I’m pretty sure he does, and I’m sure there are a few people who are still interested, even if they didn’t win their seats in the last election. Leadership hopefuls will emerge – that’s not the question. The question is whether the party’s grassroots will decide to give Mulcair one more chance, or if they’ve decided that he’s run out of chances.

Good reads:

  • The RCMP has dropped their investigation into 24 of the 30 senators referred to them, which isn’t surprising given the suspect nature of those findings by the AG.
  • Another death in CBSA detention is renewing calls for the agency to have an independent watchdog (like a Senate bill under consideration would do).
  • It sounds like the budget will post a deficit of $30 billion, with no new massive stimulus, but just the investments they campaigned on.
  • The government sounds like they’re looking at ways to help international students stay in Canada, which economists say is a needed change.
  • The Conservatives want the government to recoup the millions overcharged by contractors. You know, which happened on their watch.
  • Sick leave continues to be an issue in civil service negotiations, but the Liberals have made some amendments to the offer on the table.
  • Plain cigarette packaging is coming…
  • Mike Moffatt makes the case for eliminating most import tariffs in this country.
  • Susan Delacourt talks about the problem of political party databases being exempt from privacy laws.
  • My Loonie Politics column this week wonders if we really need a “third chamber” of Parliament given the state of our debates.

Odds and ends:

The average EI wait time is getting to be 39 days nationally.

Here’s a look at the history of the federal budget, and what the lock-ups for journalists cost nowadays.