Uniting the left side of the political spectrum isn't a new idea. Why aren't they doing it?
We know that when political parties work together, they can succeed. We saw this with the Unite the Right movement between the Reform / Canadian Alliance party and the Federal Progressive Conservatives when the joined and became the Conservative Party of Canada. We've seen this in other countries, most recently in France when a coalition of left-wing parties came together to defeat the rising right wing. Why is there no Unite The Left in Ontario?
In fact, the Ontario Liberals and NDP have done it before. Back in 1985, the Liberals and NDP came together when NDP leader Bob Rae approached Liberal leader David Peterson to form an accord for two years, forming government instead of the minority PC party, ending 42 years of Tory government. Peterson became Premier, with promises to implement some NDP-favoured policies.
But what stops them now?
One thing I've learned through volunteering for Not One Seat is that the view inside a political party is very different from the view outside. On the outside, this makes perfect sense. Not being a member of any political party, I can't give you a definitive view of what's happening inside, but some of the issues may include:
Incumbency advantage. Incumbents have a huge leg up in being re-elected again, and so ceding one seat to another party for the sake of the current election might mean that they are ceding this
Political Differences. Compared to Doug Ford, we see the NDP and Liberal parties as having more in common than not. Compared to each other, there are real differences between the parties, and for those who are committed members, these differences may be a bridge too far.
Partisanship. The people who are higher up in the decision-making of each party are often the ones that are the most partisan. What may seem black and white to us (Doug Ford vs no Doug Ford) looks a little different through red or oranged coloured glasses.
History. Since the mid-80s, the Liberal party has been a fairly dominant force in Provincial politics, and within the party, it may be very hard to consider the idea that they may not be dominent again. Similarly, the NDP reputedly have felt that the Liberals tend to take credit for their ideas, and water them down, and this may make them less likely to want to work with the Liberal party.
Leadership. I can't speak for either leader, but what's clear is that being party leader is not an easy job; every problem the party faces tends to be blamed on you. For someone to take on the leadership role, they have to really want to be in charge; that would be a difficult thing to give up in favour of someone else.
We don't think the parties should permanently unite--one only needs to look south of the border to see the kinds of problems created by a two-party system. Rather, we believe that a diversity of political ideas is to the benefit of all of us.
But we are of the opinion that the absolute corruption and disdain for Ontario shown by Doug Ford is a sufficiently serious situation that it warrants some unusual steps from the Opposition parties to work together.
By signing the Unity Pledge and committing to vote for the candidate in your riding most likely to defeat Doug Ford's PC candidate, you not only help whittle Ford's majority down to a minority, you also help give us the strength of numbers to advocate with candidates and the political leadership to work together.
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