Roundup: New Zealand’s leadership selection

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New Zealand is about to have a new prime minister, and lo, it was a process that took a single day. Yes, it was an acclamation where only one person put his name forward (“to avoid disunity,”), but that is less of an issue because New Zealand is one of the last remaining parliaments where it’s decided by a vote held within the caucus among the MPs—the way that Westminster parliaments are supposed to work. And of course, it’s completely alien to how things have devolved in this country.

The quasi-American pseudo-presidential primary system that we’ve adopted in this country is corrosive to politics. It has hollowed out the political parties, and pretty much killed grassroots riding associations, because they no longer matter to the party. Memberships—paid or unpaid (as is the latest craze)—is about leadership selection, not sticking around to do the hard policy work, because the parties have centralized that and justify it using Big Data. It’s all about populating databases rather than ensuring you have a base of engaged partisans who act as a link between the community and the caucus in Parliament. The leader then turns the party into a personality cult while they wield almost absolute power because there are almost no checks on that remaining. At least with caucus selection, there is a direct line of accountability so that the caucus that chose the leader can remove said leader as well, which is one of the most important considerations.

Suffice to say, while one might have preferred that they at least had a vote between two candidates for the job, the fact that they have retained caucus selection is important, and Canada needs to return to the same system if we are to have any hope of fixing the damage to our system.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 332:

Russian forces claim that they took control of the town of Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, which their mercenaries claimed to have taken already. And they’re still claiming they’ve taken Soledar, which Ukraine disputes. Meanwhile, the NATO meeting in Ramstein, Germany, ended without an agreement on sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as Germany is the holdout and needs to authorize the use of their technology.

https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1616506280876642317

Good reads:

  • Jean-Yves Duclos insists there’s been a change of tone from the provinces and that he expects a deal to be made in the near future as there has been progress.
  • Mélanie Joly says that Canada will help guide a peace process in Cameroon.
  • The federal government is expanding its programme to give construction workers (and their families) with expired visas or work permits full permanent residency.
  • The contract with the foodie PR firm Ahmed Hussen’s office gave has a connection to a staffer’s family, and Marci Ien has also used the company.
  • Omar Alghabra announced that the government will work over the next three years to create the regulations to allow for commercial space launches from Canada.
  • The federal government has reached a proposed settlement with 325 First Nations around reparations for the destruction of their language and culture.
  • The government is going to mediation with one of the unions it accused of bargaining in bad faith a week ago.
  • The Federal Court has ordered the government to repatriate its four citizens remaining in detention camps in Syria for participating with ISIS.
  • The Post has a chat with the new chair of the CRTC about the contentious online broadcasting bill and the possible challenge to the Rogers-Shaw merger.
  • Here’s a check-in with Elizabeth May and her task of rebuilding the Green Party with her new co-leader.
  • Jason Markusoff attempts a partial catalogue of Danielle Smith’s litany of lies.
  • Althia Raj thinks that Trudeau not condemning Doug Ford’s healthcare plans is somehow a gift to Jagmeet Singh. (I suspect Trudeau has a different calculus).
  • Paul Wells offers some well-deserved cynicism on the Hussen PR contract story, and makes some trenchant observations about how Liberals treat ethics rules.
  • My weekend column notes at how Singh is overplaying his hand with his demands while making criticisms of Trudeau that should demand withdrawing confidence.

Odds and ends:

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