Three-peat
Filed Under: Local
Belated congratulations to Manitoba Premier Gary Doer on leading the provincial NDP to a record third consecutive majority government. The final tally in the 57-seat Manitoba Legislature was NDP: 36, PC: 19 and Liberals: 2.
Although not my choice for a provincial government the people of Manitoba were obviously not ready for a change thanks in large part to the popularity of Gary Doer himself. Hell, even I like the guy. In fact I always said he is with the wrong party. I think another reason for the relatively easy victory is the state of disarray the Progressive Conservatives find themselves in since former leader Gary Filmon left politics some years ago. The PCs it seems haven’t been able to get their collective act together since. When you combine those two factors it’s not hard to see why the Dippers easily withstood the Crocus firestorm and once again cruised to victory.
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8 Comments so far. Add Yours Now!
Werner Patels
Let’s not forget that in a recent Globe and Mail interview, Doer himself admitted that he is inspired by Ralph Klein — that alone shows that Doer has a brain (unlike so many of our politicians).
Jun 1st, 2007
Len Kutchma
Hi Werner,
I wasn’t even aware of that interview. I’ll have to look it up.
Jun 1st, 2007
Werner Patels
It was in the Globe and Mail (Friday or Saturday) before the election in Manitoba.
Hang on, I think I found the link:
Doer said, “There’s a little bit of Ralph Klein in us. We try to be populist.”
link
Essentially, Doer has done a great deal of what’s needed to make a party like the NDP electable: reducing taxes, scaling back government, cutting its ties with unions, etc.
For all that, I have to say, Doer has earned my respect.
Jun 2nd, 2007
Len Kutchma
Thanks for the link Werner. For the benefit of people who don’t live here in Manitoba, Doer is certainly not the stereotypical NDPer. He has my respect as well.
Jun 2nd, 2007
Werner Patels
But that’s why I have come to rely on personality, rather than party program. It’s the leader, the individual, that makes or breaks a party, and you’re right when you say that Doer is not the typical example of an NDPer, but he has come to represent the style and ways of the “Western NDP” (I may be wrong, but I heard somewhere that such a group, “Western NDP”, has been created, more or less informally, that is, whose purpose is to drive reform across NDP ranks). Should be interesting to watch.
Jun 7th, 2007
Len Kutchma
Excellent points Werner.
Jun 7th, 2007
Werner Patels
Having said all that, I also have to confess that Ralph Klein will remain my all-time star premier and political leader of all times, no matter what some people are saying about him. And he looks especially good now when I look at the current premier (or sorry excuse for one) we have now.
Jun 9th, 2007
Len Kutchma
I’ve always been a huge Ralph Klein fan.
Jun 10th, 2007
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