The New Democrats have the most to lose and the least to gain in this election. They won’t win the West, they are losing their grip on Quebec, and they have already lost their one seat in New Brunswick with little chance of gaining another. There was never any chance of Thomas Mulcair becoming prime minister, but there was a good chance of him holding his title of Leader of the Opposition. But now that his numbers have fallen, Harper’s on the rise, and Justin Trudeau raising more political donations; Mulcair sees himself losing his post.
New Democrats are also feeling the threat of Trudeau’s popularity. The online NDP communities have become downright vitriolic. The Conservative online presence has always been a toxic hotspot for barbs and meaningless quips that doesn’t garner any meaningful political dialogue. But now the NDP network is giving the Big Blue Mudslingers a run for their money. They have even began turning on each other when someone sugguests a slur has gone too far or questions the relevance of a spur in the greater discourse.
Who is the target of the NDP fanclub? Everyone. Nobody is safe, save the Bloc Quebecois who have flown totally under everyone’s radar for months. Elizabeth May and Justin Trudeau have taken the most orange heat; May for suggesting Liberals were easier to work with, and Trudeau for being his father’s son.
Stephen Harper is still the subject of a few hardliners, but has seemingly given the target he wore on his back to Justin. With the focus of opposition pointed anywhere but at the government itself, Harper has managed to push through some very devastating legislation which hurts every Canadian’s civil liberties and grants additional powers to police forces a-la-Orwell’s 1984. The NDP support base also seems more presoccupied with Justin Trudeau’s hair than the fact that Stephen Harper spent $700,000 on court costs to avoid paying veterans their promised income.
True, the NDP is like a battered boxer just before the TKO; swinging wildly in all directions but connecting with nothing. Let’s hope for the sake of democracy that Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition is able to come back with a strong finish in the next round before the Tories take away anymore of the Canadian identity in their move towards a police state.
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