Since the name ‘Singh’ for Sikhs means ‘lion,’ it makes you wonder about New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh. Is he just a cowardly lion, looking for a political Wizard of Oz to give him the courage to address the real needs of his party? He certainly failed to deal with any of the real issues this past weekend.
And you can hardly replace action and direction with humour. Even with better than 90 per cent approval for his leadership, Singh let the party down. All the 90 per cent vote meant was that the party had nobody in mind to replace Singh at this time.
Singh addressed a party in turmoil and told them jokes.
The party is facing a general election across Canada in less than two years and has no clear direction. The party lacks purpose, policies and potential. It has no future and so Singh is obviously the best person to lead them into it.
The leap of the LEAP Manifesto turned into a hop. Singh’s attitude was that if you forget about it, it just might go away.
Is there anywhere for the party to go in today’s Quebec?
Was Andrea Horwath of the large Ontario delegation really there or was that just another NDP apparition heading to sure oblivion in just a few months?
And if there were any delegates there from B.C. or Alberta, why were there no good fist fights?
When you think of the number of Sikhs who bought memberships in the party to elect Singh, you would at least expect Singh to thank them.
It was nice that Singh brought his fiancé along to introduce her. Maybe that was why he did not have his mind on party problems.
But as for the rest of the weekend, it was a typical NDP convention. There were lots of airy-fairy resolutions that will go nowhere. This is now a party where you take the high road and stay out of the mud of battle.
The old joke about Canada’s political parties continues to hold true: Conservatives come to a convention to drink; Liberals come to a convention to get laid; and NDPers come to a convention to get pamphlets.
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Copyright 2018 © Peter Lowry
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