A New Democrat spells out party’s identity crisis
For the second time in two years, Cheri DiNovo has some tough words for members of her own political family. The NDP MPP for Parkdale—High Park says the federal New Democrats’ setback in the October election is a sign the party is losing its way. DiNovo thinks party officials aren’t owning up to their failures, so she’s breaking the silence herself, as she did after her own provincial New Democrats faltered in Ontario’s 2014 campaign.
“Our results were completely devastating,” DiNovo said during a recent interview in her riding. “The messaging that I hear and others hear coming out of Ottawa seems delusional in terms of its description of what went down.” The federal NDP lost more than half its seats in Parliament as well as its status as official Opposition. DiNovo says that instead of blaming others, the party needs to take a hard look in the mirror.
“Blaming the mainstream media and the Liberal strategists is a little like farmers blaming the weather,” DiNovo quipped. “The only entity we can change as the New Democratic Party is ourselves.” The change DiNovo wants to see is an NDP that reclaims the values of democratic socialism, which the party has gradually shed since its transformation from the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation in 1961.
None of this is surprising coming from DiNovo, a self-described socialist who took after her father, an Italian immigrant who was passionate about his leftist politics. DiNovo has always tried to tug her party to the left. In nearly 10 years as an MPP, she’s pushed for higher minimum wages, acceptance of refugees, and has passed groundbreaking legislation to recognize gender identity and gender expression under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
DiNovo’s particular beef about what she called the NDP’s “austerity approach” in the recent election is that socialism seems to be rehabilitating itself in the politics of Canada’s closest allies, the United States and the United Kingdom. “We’re looking at (Democratic presidential hopeful) Bernie Saunders south of the border, calling himself a democratic socialist, we’re looking at (British Labour leader) Jeremy Corbyn in the U.K. calling himself a democratic socialist,” she said. “We have some serious soul-searching to do.”
The outspoken MPP is cautious in her criticism of federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, saying the blame for the party’s continued move to the political centre is not his alone.
“There’s the leader, and then there’s that small group of people around the leader, whispering in his ear,” DiNovo said. “I think there’s enough blame to go around. I don’t think we’re going to solve things simply by changing the face at the top.”
Other than his admittedly entertaining rendition of Hotline Bling, Mulcair hasn’t made many headlines since the Oct. 19 election. He certainly hasn’t suggested the party is in the kind of ideological crisis DiNovo describes. But then, public admissions of failure or the need for introspection are rare in most of our politics. DiNovo’s expectation that her party would openly air its shortcomings is refreshing, even if it seems naively optimistic.
Although DiNovo claims she’s only representing the feelings of many party members and sympathizers, her public criticism seems to have come at a price. “I got in enough trouble the last time,” DiNovo confides, although she won’t elaborate, except to say with a hearty laugh that “I wasn’t the most popular person.” Still, she seems to believe her role as the party’s public conscience holds more value than sticking to party messaging.
It’s worth wondering if the federal NDP’s fall back to third place in Parliament is really so disastrous for social democracy in Canada. After all, DiNovo herself argued that it was the NDP’s pressure in the opposition ranks that pushed Canada to implement social welfare programs such as universal health care, federal pensions and employment insurance.
And although the NDP originally seemed out of step with Canadians on its stance against Bill C-51, a set of controversial new powers for Canada’s security and spy agencies, popular opinion gradually swung in its favour. For DiNovo, such a shift is evidence the party shouldn’t back down from its principles. “Instead of following the polls, let the polls follow you.”
Even with some sincere reflection, the NDP has a long recovery ahead.
It will be hard for Mulcair to regain trust in the aftermath of what some party members must see as a betrayal of values.
DiNovo’s provincial party leader, Andrea Horwath, faces a similar challenge after a similar electoral play to populist rhetoric, one that left the party with the same number of seats, but embittered many members and volunteers. But DiNovo thinks there’s still time to rebuild, and a great imperative to do so quickly.
Although she applauds Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for accepting Syrian refugees, ending airstrikes in the Middle East and legalizing marijuana, she nevertheless warns that the new administration “will be an austerity government, with better hair.”
For DiNovo, the country needs a clear alternative to the promise of endless growth on a finite planet, a vision in which “socialism” isn’t a four-letter word. “We have to remember who the hell we are,” DiNovo said. “And honestly, Canada’s waiting.”