In Canada, it's rare for a political party to win four consecutive majority governments. Heading to the polls on October 4, will Manitoba's New Democratic Party be one of those rare exceptions? Does it deserve to be?

Though he was Minister of Finance in the government of Gary Doer, this will be Greg Selinger's first election as leader of Manitoba's NDP. Selinger lack's the boyish charm, the talent for clever sounding 30 second sound bites, the outgoing personality and the seeming absence of any hard core principles -- all of which traits were so useful to Doer in his political career as well as his success as Canada's number one Washington lobbyist for the Alberta tar sands.