Party
By Eric Dowd
Toronto – Premier Dalton
McGuinty’s Liberals are making the downsized New Democrats less heard in
the legislature, but they have a much more ambitious agenda.
This,
although the Liberals would never admit it, is to reduce the province’s
three-party system to only two, themselves and the Progressive
Conservatives, which would make the Liberals the natural governing party
-- as they are in Ottawa.
The
Liberals would not admit it because they cannot make a speech without
boasting they are ushering in a new era of democracy not seen since the
golden age of Greece.
They
would not want to be seen as using their big majority in the legislature
to get rid of a system that has existed for 60 years and enabled voters to
choose between more parties and a wider range of policies.
The
Liberals have stubbornly dug in their heels in and blocked the New
Democrats, who lost two seats in the October election so they no longer
are designated an official party, from receiving funds commensurate with
their needs for research and opportunities to ask questions in the
legislature.
Liberal
backbenchers in fact overwhelmingly support allowing the NDP more help,
which is another example the democracy their party promises has not fully
arrived.
But
the Liberal hierarchy have visions dancing in their heads in which there
would be no NDP that matters. The benefits to the Liberals would be huge.
Since
the 1940s Ontario has had a system in which the Tories, Liberals and NDP
or its predecessor, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, have been
able to influence elections and it is one of the few provinces with a
three-party system.
One
major result has been the Tories have dominated. They had governments
under premiers George Drew, Leslie Frost, John Robarts and William Davis
for 42 unbroken years up to 1985 and, after a break, for another eight
years under Mike Harris and Ernie Eves until the October election.
Not
once in this time did the Tories win a majority of the votes cast. They
won because the votes against them were divided between the Liberals and
NDP.
Minorities
in the Liberals and NDP occasionally proposed the two parties merge as
they grew frustrated with the long years of Tory rule.
But
they failed particularly because New Democrats felt they had too many
differences with the Liberals and many of their cherished policies would
be submerged in a party the Liberals would dominate.
The
two parties were able to join only to vote out the Tories after they lost
their majority under premier Frank Miller in 1985 and replace them by
Liberals led by David Peterson once when they committed themselves in
writing to implementing a long list of NDP policies.
But
the Liberals used this leg-up to gain a strong footing in government and
the NDP would find it difficult to cooperate again.
McGuinty’s
Liberals would gain if voters could choose between only them and the
Tories, because New Democrats’ views are closer to Liberals,’ despite
many substantial differences.
This
is notwithstanding the fact NDP activists dislike Liberals more because
they see them as posing falsely as caring for the poorer-off, while the
Tories cater mainly to the well-heeled but are at least honest about it.
The
NDP obtained an average 25 per cent of votes for much of the past six
decades and after some leaner years increased to 15 per cent in the recent
election, and has been in government in Ontario, something its federal
party never achieved.
The
Liberals underlined their eagerness to attract the NDP vote in the 1999
election, when many voters were primarily motivated by wanting to get rid
of Harris and McGuinty argued only his party had a chance of beating
Harris and a vote for the NDP would be wasted.
McGuinty
also will have noted that in Ottawa, when opposed virtually only by those
on the right wing, Liberal governments have high longevity – he may
think he
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