Eby has seemed burned out for a while. I don’t think he wanted to give the government over to the Conservatives, but a situation where he either wanted a clear majority or wanted out may have been the case.
The slap in the face is around the NDP becoming disconnected from the people so much that they thought their clever little ruse of calling a snap election while the opposition was in disarray was a good idea.
Leftists should consider the top down approach doesn’t work, assuming a party that’s “more left” will automatically win is silly. You need to engage with the people and convince them of policies you want, not try to impose them from above. There is no “silent majority” that wants the same things you do. You aren’t going to scam people into accepting your ideas in the same way the NDP tried to scam their way into an easy election win through shenanigans.
You need to engage with the people and convince them of policies you want, not try to impose them from above. There is no “silent majority” that wants the same things you do. You aren’t going to scam people into accepting your ideas in the same way the NDP tried to scam their way into an easy election win through shenanigans.
That’s a pretty leftist approach. There is a silent majority though - on material issues that cut across party lines - like affordability. But even then the way to get people to recognize that and sign up for your solution is through otganizing at the bottom.
Scam? He called an election. He didn’t cause the unending chaos, infighting and disorganization of the BC Conservatives. They have been doing g all that to themselves for ages. Call it opportunistic, but calling it a scam is pretty ridiculous.
The governing party is entrusted with the power to call an election. There are valid reasons for calling elections such as when a new issue comes up and they need a mandate from the people to enact legislation that wasn’t in their existing mandate. There can be times in a minority government scenario where other parties are deliberately blocking legislation I could see it being necessary. And of course there’s No Confidence, but that triggers an election regardless of what the governing party wants.
The other party being in disarray and the governing party wants to take advantage of that is not an acceptable reason to call a snap election. Elections costs money, and having a healthy debate between different parties is a significant part of a democracy. The NDP tried to take advantage of another party being in between leaders to try to avoid debate and get an easy election win. The NDP chose an easy win over democratic principles and BC voters punished them for it.
If this is what a New Democratic Party is all about, I don’t want this “new democracy”. The NDP disrespected democracy and were rightly punished for it.
That doesn’t pass the sniff test. His party had 2 more years in power, which is plenty of time to choose a new leader ahead of the next election. If he wanted out, he could have stepped down.
No, I think this was the NDP senior strategists/leadership expectations that the opposition was in such disarray that they could cruise to an easy majority. We’re they not paying attention last election? BCU folded as soon as it was obvious they were unelectable; it wasn’t 4D chess to think the nascent right-wing parties would fold even earlier.
They also handed the BC Cons an excuse for not having an election platform—they were in disarray just trying to respond to their leadership turnover and the unfair election, so just saying “trust us, we’re better” seemed reasonable to voters.
Fuck’s sake. What a misstep.
He’s either a massive idiot or it was deliberate. It’s too obvious a mistake to be a misstep I think. There was even opinion polling…
Eby has seemed burned out for a while. I don’t think he wanted to give the government over to the Conservatives, but a situation where he either wanted a clear majority or wanted out may have been the case.
And a clear majority for absolutely no reason! It’s not like they were doing anything wild and imaginative like public grocery chains.
Hopefully this is the slap in the face the BCNDP need to move left instead of staying centrist.
The slap in the face is around the NDP becoming disconnected from the people so much that they thought their clever little ruse of calling a snap election while the opposition was in disarray was a good idea.
Leftists should consider the top down approach doesn’t work, assuming a party that’s “more left” will automatically win is silly. You need to engage with the people and convince them of policies you want, not try to impose them from above. There is no “silent majority” that wants the same things you do. You aren’t going to scam people into accepting your ideas in the same way the NDP tried to scam their way into an easy election win through shenanigans.
Yeah, that’s kind of the defining idea that a left leaning party would adhere to.
That’s a pretty leftist approach. There is a silent majority though - on material issues that cut across party lines - like affordability. But even then the way to get people to recognize that and sign up for your solution is through otganizing at the bottom.
Scam? He called an election. He didn’t cause the unending chaos, infighting and disorganization of the BC Conservatives. They have been doing g all that to themselves for ages. Call it opportunistic, but calling it a scam is pretty ridiculous.
The governing party is entrusted with the power to call an election. There are valid reasons for calling elections such as when a new issue comes up and they need a mandate from the people to enact legislation that wasn’t in their existing mandate. There can be times in a minority government scenario where other parties are deliberately blocking legislation I could see it being necessary. And of course there’s No Confidence, but that triggers an election regardless of what the governing party wants.
The other party being in disarray and the governing party wants to take advantage of that is not an acceptable reason to call a snap election. Elections costs money, and having a healthy debate between different parties is a significant part of a democracy. The NDP tried to take advantage of another party being in between leaders to try to avoid debate and get an easy election win. The NDP chose an easy win over democratic principles and BC voters punished them for it.
If this is what a New Democratic Party is all about, I don’t want this “new democracy”. The NDP disrespected democracy and were rightly punished for it.
He could’ve resigned at any time if that was the case. Guy was just being opportunistic and people don’t like these kinds of shenanigans.
That doesn’t pass the sniff test. His party had 2 more years in power, which is plenty of time to choose a new leader ahead of the next election. If he wanted out, he could have stepped down.
No, I think this was the NDP senior strategists/leadership expectations that the opposition was in such disarray that they could cruise to an easy majority. We’re they not paying attention last election? BCU folded as soon as it was obvious they were unelectable; it wasn’t 4D chess to think the nascent right-wing parties would fold even earlier.
They also handed the BC Cons an excuse for not having an election platform—they were in disarray just trying to respond to their leadership turnover and the unfair election, so just saying “trust us, we’re better” seemed reasonable to voters.