Liberal-NDP Merger (March 22, 2022)

I suppose it had to happen someday. There have been discussions over the decades about a formal agreement between the Liberals and the New Democrats for bringing the two parties into alignment.

What makes this harder to swallow is the fact that it was done in secret, effectively undermining the will of the people. And, yes, the Liberal and NDP agendas are very similar, but the differences are enough to keep these two parties separate and viable. They say that this pact will last only until the end of the current parliament in 2025. That may be the intention, but the Liberals will have to walk a very fine line for the agreement to survive the next three years. But then what?

In the UK, the Liberals and the Social Democrats joined their parties together on March 3, 1988. They are known as the Lib-Dems. They did that so that both parties would be able to survive in a Labour-Conservative political tug-of-war. It was a desperate measure, but it worked, since they have been able to shore up the other parties’ minority governments, both federally and regionally, and effectively be the balance of power, with all the benefits that brings. But they run a distant third to the other two parties.

The news media reported yesterday’s ‘merger’ as a Canadian first. And perhaps it is, but what will come from it? The Conservatives had hoped to bring Trudeau’s minority government down, before 2025. Now they’re stymied. Perhaps, the end will come for Trudeau after the next election.

Voters don’t like to be fooled…