Why is Paul putting up with the Greens?
Green Party of Canada Leader Annamie Paul will never win a federal election and form a government. You can bet the farmhouse, and every acre of land associated with it, on that. But she’s going to be long remembered in our country’s political history as the leader who faced the largest amount of personal abuse, attacks and mudslinging from her own party.
Over the past month and a half, Paul has faced the repeated threat of a leadership review and non-confidence vote. She has withstood a backlash over policy issues, most notably on Israel and the Middle East, which led to one vocal MP, Jenica Atwin, abandoning ship and joining the Liberals. Paul’s senior adviser, Noah Zatzman, who spoke out against anti-semitism in the party, was removed and the party attempted to force Paul to apologize for his statement.
Former leader Elizabeth May defended her party, and offered a cryptic and flimsy defence of its current leader. Funding for Paul’s impending campaign in the riding of Toronto Centre was cut. And the Greens, along with the Green Party Fund, filed a legal application against the arbitrator who shut down a non-confidence vote against her.
There’s more, but you get the point.
I’ve been involved in politics and the media a long time, and have never seen anything quite like this before. The old battles between the Reform party and the Progressive Conservatives, as well as the public spats between the camps of former Liberal prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, didn’t even come close to the level of animosity seen within the Green party.
The brouhaha with the Democratic Representative Caucus — a group of dissident Canadian Alliance MPS who rebelled against their leader in 2001 and ended up forming a coalition with the PCS — had shades of the Paulgreens war, but was not on the same level.
The Waffle movement’s attempt to take control of the NDP in the early 1970s, which was later replicated by the party’s socialist caucus, seem like child’s play today. Conflicts that have erupted between other third parties, including the historical break between the Communists and Marxist-leninists, were tamer, too.
Who would have believed the informal title of “most divisive political entity in Canadian history” would be awarded to a small, hippy-dippy environmental party with two MPS and an unelected leader?
And what’s been Paul’s reaction to this political coup d’état (of sorts)? Remarkably tepid, all things considered.
Paul acknowledged that, “This experience has been incredibly painful for me and for my family,” during her July 19 press conference. She went as far to call it a “one-sided campaign” against her. Yet she has refused on multiple occasions to answer questions about the nameless perpetrators of the campaign and what they actually perpetrated — and emphasized on July 23 that she wouldn’t be “distracted” by this “small group” of dissenters.
But why is Paul putting up with this disgraceful behaviour from the party she’s supposed to be the leader of? Many Green executive council members, donors and party faithful clearly oppose her leadership. Paul’s opponents don’t appear to have enough support to force her out, but the level of opposition provides serious obstacles and makes it nearly impossible for Paul to lead an effective election campaign.
While there have been calls for a temporary detente between the warring factions, when a significant number of people within your own ranks want to clip your political wings at the first available opportunity, there’s simply no way to be an effective leader. Paul appears hopeful that the turnover of a new Green executive council on Aug. 19 will improve her political fortunes. This could end up being wishful thinking on her part.
So, why is Paul still there? While only Paul knows her true motivations, it is likely that she believes her unique standing as Canada’s first Black and Jewish party leader will ultimately help her overcome this internal strife. She may believe that public sympathy for her political plight will help her defeat her opponents in some ridings and elect her allies in others. She may feel that a solid election result will help quell the discontented Green masses and reform the party as a whole.
Or, it may not be in her nature to accept defeat, no matter the cost. Most politicians that I’ve known would have already called it a day. It wouldn’t have been perceived as a sign of weakness to abandon a rapidly sinking political ship.
Paul could even have used this attempted coup to her political advantage by seeking a senior role within in the Liberals or NDP. Time’s ticking, Annamie Paul. Choose your political destiny wisely.
THERE’S SIMPLY NO WAY TO BE AN EFFECTIVE LEADER.