Defeat the Conservatives, no Liberal-NDP Coalition!
Defeat the Conservatives, no Liberal-NDP Coalition!
Written by Alex Grant - Fightback Editorial Board www.marxist.ca
Friday, 28 November 2008 With the financial crisis as a backdrop, Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government may not survive another week. Less than two months after the last election the government is facing a confidence vote on its budget update and all three opposition parties say they will vote against. Rumours are rife of a Liberal-NDP coalition to replace the Conservatives. The Conservatives must be defeated, but there can be no coalition with the bosses’ parties.Yesterday, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled a budget update. This had come after several weeks of speculation that Stephen Harper had had a sudden Keynesian conversion towards economic stimulus in the face of the global economic meltdown. However, rather than put forward a statement which mirrored the multi-billion dollar bailouts of the US and Britain, the government tabled a massively optimistic balanced budget achieved off the backs of the working class.
First of all, Flaherty outlined a ban on federal public sector strikes until 2011 and the institution of a 1.5% wage cap. In the words of John Gordon, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, "It's an affront to free collective bargaining. It's just atrocious." It rips up 2.5% wage increases already agreed by the Canada Revenue Agency and hits against Canada Post and other workers in crown corporations. In addition, where the federal government leads the provinces will follow and this will be used as a model for an attack on the right to strike everywhere.
Second, the government proposes finding $2.3-billion of revenue from privatizing crown corporations and government assets, plus another $2-billion in cuts to public services. They are also planning to gut pay equity legislation. Exactly what will be on the chopping block remains to be seen, but you can guarantee it will not be good for the workers in those corporations or the people who access those services.
These measures are exactly what Fightback predicted. In an article we published on the 8th of September we said, “With the coming downturn the Conservatives are looking to follow the dictates of their corporate masters and institute whole scale attacks on the social wage. The Liberals work for the same people and they would be no different. The bosses will demand that the economic crisis be put squarely on the backs of the working class. There will be cuts in every social program, every small reform that workers wrenched away from the system. Privatization will come to the top of the agenda, probably starting with Canada Post. The last few years of long hours, few rights and poverty wages will seem like a holiday when they are replaced with government and corporate attacks, unemployment and privatization.” Canada Goes to the Polls: Socialist Policies Needed, Fightback Editorial Board.
Poison Pill
However, as well as attacks on the working class, the Conservatives included a nasty poison pill. They proposed to remove the $1.95 per vote political subsidy given out to political parties. The Liberals, the so-called natural party of Canadian capitalism, could probably have stomached the attacks on the workers, “for the good of the country.” However, now the Tories were putting the very existence of the Liberal party at stake. When you are voting to attack the poor that is one thing, but this would mean real pain and hardship for Liberal apparatchiks and that could not be allowed! The Liberals are massively in debt and divided in the run up to their leadership convention. In the last year they were not even able to raise as much money as the NDP. Despite still having the weak and pathetic Stephane Dion at their head the Liberals had no choice but to oppose the budget statement.
The NDP, the Bloc and the Liberals all stated their opposition on the grounds of the lack of economic stimulus in the statement. All three parties have been forced to fight on the high ground of economic policy, no matter if their real motivation is the receipt of money from the public purse. The Conservatives had miscalculated. They thought that they could kick the Liberals while they were down. They hoped that the Liberals, leaderless, would be forced to let the government stand. The latest reports state that the government has removed the campaign finance portion of the bill – however, now they have forced the Liberals on to the high horse of opposing the statement on the grounds of the lack of stimulus, the Liberals will have trouble getting off that horse if there is nothing in this area. The choice is either a massive revision of the economic statement, a massive humiliation of the Liberals, or the government will fall.
If the government loses a vote on a finance bill it is deemed to be a vote of confidence and the government falls. However, it does not necessarily mean that there will automatically be an election. The Governor General, representing the Queen, may turn to the Liberals to see if they can form a government that can win a confidence vote in the House of Commons. We cannot forget that under the Canadian (and British and Australian) constitution it is not the people who decide to form a government, it is the Queen. In the event of a party winning an election on a socialist platform there could be an entirely constitutional coup, where the Queen’s representative appoints an emergency cabinet “until order is restored” and it can be guaranteed that an election would produce the “correct” result.
The prospect of the Liberals being handed power has led to back room discussion about a Liberal-NDP coalition. Former party leaders Jean Chrétien and Ed Broadbent have apparently had a series of discussions. The deal is fraught with contradictions. Who would be Prime Minister? Stephane Dion has no credibility, but the Liberals have not elected a new leader. What would happen to the $50-billion corporate tax cuts that the NDP is committed to reversing? There is no way the Liberals would agree to this and an NDP back-down on this issue would be a complete capitulation. Finally, what would happen to the Canadian troops in Afghanistan? The NDP is committed to immediate withdrawal while the Liberals want to stay and fight until 2011.
Any such coalition with the Liberals would be a huge mistake and a betrayal by the leadership of the NDP. The Liberals are no less of a bosses' party than the Conservatives and have supported an endless list of attacks on the working class. In the present financial crisis the Liberals will be forced to follow the dictates of their corporate masters. Will the NDP leadership throw the Liberals a lifeline in their hour of need, and be dragged down with them, or will the NDP let the bosses’ party sink into a well-deserved watery grave? There is a historic opportunity here to change the balance of forces of Canadian politics and it cannot be thrown away. Let the Liberals and Conservatives take responsibility for the crisis of the capitalist system they defend while the NDP builds support by proposing the only genuine alternative – Socialism.
The NDP is correct to oppose the budget statement, but for the wrong reasons. Economic stimulus and the Keynesian model, in other words bailouts for the banks, is no solution. Deficit financing was tried before and it resulted in the hyper-inflation of the 1970’s. The only way to save jobs of Canadian workers is a socialist economy. Productive plants are being shut down with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. No matter how much money is thrown at these private corporations you cannot artificially create a market for the products out of thin air. Attempting to plan capitalism, while maintaining private ownership, is simply impossible. The only way out is to change the logic of the economy towards production for need and not for profit. By nationalizing these plants, putting them under the democratic control of the workers and integrating them through a democratic plan of production, millions of jobs can be saved and the economy can be run on a rational basis.
Some may say this is too radical and workers will reject it. Recently the Quebec NDP voted for nationalization in the oil and gas sector and this move was led by the striking Petro-Canada workers. Besides, if the choice is between radical action and unemployment and mortgage default, most workers will not support capitalist ideology as they walk to the food bank. Capitalism has shown that it does not work, the British and American governments have effectively nationalized large sections of the banking system in order to save capitalism from itself. All the capitalist theories are being thrown out of the window as useless in practice. The question is not whether nationalization is acceptable, Bush and Brown have shown that it is, the question is whether there is nationalization to bail out the bankers who destroyed the economy, or nationalization for the benefit of the workers who produce all the wealth and really know how to run society.
The coming weeks and months will see incredible turmoil. Sharp turns and sudden changes are on the order of the day. Fightback says, bring down the Conservatives and no coalitions with the Liberals. The NDP must adopt socialist policies to save jobs and lead millions of workers and youth towards the only alternative to capitalist poverty, homelessness, unemployment and war.
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Comments
While I fully agree with you about the character of the Liberals, Tommy, I think I fully disagree with your analysis above.
Bob Rae and the ONDP threw a lifeline to the Liberals in 1985. Within five years, they were elected to government - for the first and last time ever. Instead of being a third party, their tactical move declared they were prepared to make temporary compromises to achieve gains for workers and others - just as they did with the "NDP budget" of 2005.
What went wrong? Once in power, they forgot why they wanted to get there. Now that they were first, they decided to act like the Liberals. The voters told them to f*** off, and 13 years later, they are further away from the reins of power than ever.
So, my conclusion from history is different from yours. Canadians don't like political parties much. I'm very Canadian in that way. They want to see courageous individuals standing up in the face of adversity, setting aside partisan kindergarten namecalling and gameplaying, and actually trying to stare down the neocons on some specific questions of life-and-death importance to the people.
If the NDP can do that - hell, if the Bloc can do that - it will secure itself credit that will last it a long time."
This shows a lack of understanding of history, do you live in Ontario by the way? Bob Rae was a Liberal Ideolouge who had no interest in even rudementary social democracy let alone socialism. His motivation for attaching himself to the careerist right wing beaurocracy of the ONDP is unimportant the point is here that he did. He brokered the deal (not a coalition so your example SUCKS) an accord to ask that some concessions from the NDP policy bank be applied in exchange for limited support and not bringing the gov't until 2 years had passed. Rae won because he took the calculated risk of showing himself to be a kinder gentler (liberal) capitalist. this wokred as he was elected with a majority as the market took the growing pains that would become a recession the Liberals lost support as they failed to solve the problems of working people (to the contrary attacked from the right), they had learned some lessons from previous tory gov'ts they came out for change, and they may have had it had Bob Rae been defeated by the left in the conventions and real alternatives to the system been proposed but they none the less voted the lesser evil. Bob Rae was elected. The drive to the right in the party secured 5 long years of Rae days attacks on services and the worst labour legislation in ontario history. the rest is known and irrelevent Rae lost in 95 and we had the Harris-Eves Reaction. Lessons to be learned yes but not the ones you have selectivly learned Unionist.
So it appears some are implying that the NDP should roll the dice to see if they can supplant the liberals when the conservatives are done slicing and dicing them. Great analysis except it seems to leave the voter out of the process. The majority of canadians are never going to become socialists. In this last election in Burnaby when the Liberal vote collapsed it went almost 2 to 1 to the conservatives. There is a very real possibility that if the liberals collapse the next election could see a historic sized conservative majority elected. In most ridings the NDP has always needed a three way race to win under FPTP.
___________________________________________________________________________________________From North of Manifest Destiny
What went wrong? Once in power, they forgot why they wanted to get there. Now that they were first, they decided to act like the Liberals. The voters told them to f*** off, and 13 years later, they are further away from the reins of power than ever.
And you can take what unionist says about the ONDP government with a large grain of salt. He tends to ignore approximately 99% of the facts surrounding our first ONDP government when spamming the board with the exact same anti-ONDP rhetoric each and every time. And his recollection of CCF history isnt too good either.
This shows a lack of understanding of history, do you live in Ontario by the way?
No, my friend. I understand history well enough to know that Québec is the place to live! 
Bob Rae was a Liberal Ideolouge who had no interest in even rudementary social democracy let alone socialism. His motivation for attaching himself to the careerist right wing beaurocracy of the ONDP is unimportant the point is here that he did.
I fully agree that his motivation was unimportant - so why exactly did you raise it?
He brokered the deal (not a coalition so your example SUCKS) an accord to ask that some concessions from the NDP policy bank be applied in exchange for limited support and not bringing the gov't until 2 years had passed.
Ummm, I didn't say it was a coalition, did I now? But why don't you like my example? The ONDP made a written contract to prop up the evil Liberals for two years in exchange for some concessions. Was that ok in your book? Why? Because they didn't fill a few cabinet seats? That made them the pure workers' party that exists only in your imagination? So if Layton did the same now, but said "no thanks" to cabinet seats - which is very possibly what Gilles Duceppe will do - that would be OK by you!!??
Rae won because he took the calculated risk of showing himself to be a kinder gentler (liberal) capitalist. this wokred as he was elected with a majority as the market took the growing pains that would become a recession the Liberals lost support as they failed to solve the problems of working people
So you see, even though Rae and the ONDP propped up the Liberals and actually brought them to power, no one blamed them for doing so. Instead, they bloody well ELECTED the NDP for the first and last time in Ontario history. They saw that in adversity, the ONDP was prepared to (at least pretend to) put aside partisan narrowness and try to do something positive for the people.
When the NDP, however, showed that they were exactly the same - if not in fact much worse - than Peterson (liars, promise-breakers, enemies of the workers, false friends of LGBT community, useless at shielding the people from the effects of the crisis etc. etc. etc. etc.) - the people wisely booted their ass to kingdom come.
Not for propping up the Liberals.
Rather, for becoming the Liberals.
It's hard to see that living in Ontario. You have to gaze from a respectful distance to grasp the big picture.
Instead, they bloody well ELECTED the NDP for the first and last time in Ontario history.
Ontario voters elected the NDP to a phony majority, like they've done so many times with the two old line parties. I'm afraid 1990 was a fluke, like this 22 percent Liberal dictatorship we have with McGuinty in Toronto today. Ontarians really aren't all that impressed with the Liberals today. No more prosperous cold war economies. And the two old line parties dont understand that they can't do things the old way and expect cold war levels of support. It's gone. The old ways are done.
So you see, even though Rae and the ONDP propped up the Liberals and actually brought them to power, no one blamed them for doing so. Instead, they bloody well ELECTED the NDP for the first and last time in Ontario history.
No they were elected in spite of this and it didnt lead to any change. I dont care if the NDP gets elected if it seeks to become the new Liberals.
"They saw that in adversity, the ONDP was prepared to (at least pretend to) put aside partisan narrowness and try to do something positive for the people."
No they saw no alternative.
"When the NDP, however, showed that they were exactly the same - if not in fact much worse - than Peterson (liars, promise-breakers, enemies of the workers, false friends of LGBT community, useless at shielding the people from the effects of the crisis etc. etc. etc. etc.) - the people wisely booted their ass to kingdom come.
Not for propping up the Liberals.
Rather, for becoming the Liberals."
I didnt say that the workers booted them out for backing liberals. they booted them out for not being an alternative. I oppose the coalition on the grounds that the NDP is the labour government (social dem and socialist groups joined to the CLC) this party of the movement and the CLC is not to become a tool in capitalist repression unless it has no principals of its own which I dont believe is true even with the Social Democratic Impotents who lead the party.
"It's hard to see that living in Ontario. You have to gaze from a respectful distance to grasp the big picture."
Know I consider you a comrade in spirit friend but this is a little much. Good luck in Quebec as I see by the papers you will see new invigerated attacks on our class soon with either a Bourgois Federalist or Bourgois Nationalist at the helm.Have been thinking deeply whether there should be a formal coalition or not, with the NDP having cabinet positions.
Simply put I have come to the conclusion that I believe much can be done with a formal coalition. Of course the argument can be made it can be done without one, with a mere propping up. However, it would be just another item, or items that the NDP "helped" to get into formal law. The Liberals would wear all the optics.
Furthermore, for one to believe, IMV, that this would hurt the NDP, then one has to believe that the coalition will be doing nothing to assist Canadians, and would do much to hurt them. In fact, I believe it has the potential to do much to assist Canadians. I do not believe in the red herrings thrown out about the NDP's participating in a capitalist system, they already are and would be even more, if they ever were elected, as either Official opposistion or ruling government. Face it, the only way to pull Canada closer to a socialist system is to have the NDP have a significant say, and become conceivable as able to govern the country.
Standing on the sidelines advising on policy is not going to do it. It will render the NDP as a 3rd party for ever. And the Liberals would solely wear the success.
Moreover, allowing Harper to carry on, is not an option. For me it boils down to taking away women's right to wage parity. WTF? It seems the blatently misogyynist CPC want to fuck over women no matter what or how. If they can't do it one way, they will do it another it appears.
Also, this is as close to PR as we are going to get, currently, and people need to grow used to seeing a coalition government, as that is what is going to happen with PR, each and every time.
Furthermore, if we had PR, would the marxist people say then also, that the NDP should NOT be part of a PR coalition government too? Give me a freakin break, all the parties have to work in the current system, trying to be holier than thou, is shooting oneself in the heart, by-passing completely the foot.
Most importantly, if the marxist crowd truly believe in this "non-participation" in a capitalist system, then they would not be running a political campaign in a capitalist system, as they are participating and giving capitalism legitmacy just by their doing that and they would not be taking/getting their 1.95 either. I call bull shit walking.
___________________________________________________________ "watching the tide roll away"
It is great to see people having to consider what a PR system would bring us in the reality of governing. PR forces parties to find common ground despite their differences. These negotiations are just a preview of what we would see if we get our dream of PR.
Given that understanding I think something formal is necessary. If it is not formal there is nothing to hold the slippery Liberals to task. It need not be ideological for now. Let's set a few simple priorities - keeping manufacturing jobs, creating new green jobs, investing in senior's needs, putting lots of money and resources into training, and a few other things. Get those done and see where things are at. The simplier the better in terms of issues to tackle and patience will be required by those, like me, that want to see a real NDP government for a bit. Patience and a lot of vigilance.
While I agree in principle with some of the things that enemy_of_capital is saying, I think that he (I'm assuming the "Alex Grant" mentioned in the original post is the same person) is basing what he says on either one of two things, neither of which I can agree with:
1. That the NDP would actually have a legitimate chance of forming a majority government if there were an election today. I really don't see how anyone could believe this, since they're clearly not going to win enough seats in Alberta or Quebec for that to be possible, even if they make huge gains elsewhere.
2. The traditional Marxist line that it doesn't really matter what happens today, as long as we get to the ideal society in the end. In this model, the NDP/workers must be willing to sacrifice any chance at power now if it means that they'll overthrow the capitalists in the end. And you know what, as nice as that sounds, there are people who are being tremendously hurt by a Conservative government, and will be even moreso if the Conservatives are allowed to stay in power, and I don't see how any decent human being could just ignore the years of pain that those people are going to go through now.
Am I afraid that the NDP are moving to the centre? Very much so. Do I think it would be OK to pass up a tremendous opportunity to affect some very meaningful change just because it doesn't overthrow the whole system? Absolutely not.
I fully agree with all comments laid out by unionist and Remind.
The exposure of being in Cabinet will be the best thing ever to happen to the federal ndp. If ever PR was conceivable to legislate it would happen in such a government.
Marxists should be grateful at this opportunity for this point alone: If PR goes through under a coalition government, you can possibly get Marxist-Leninist (I'm assuming) seats.
There is so much at stake right now that anything but a formal coalition is a result that would have obscene consequences.
"Bob Rae and the ONDP threw a lifeline to the Liberals in 1985."
David Peterson's Liberals were not on the brink of colapse like the current federal leaders are. They are out of money, can't seem to grasp the idea of fundraising without offering the prospect of lucrative government contracts, and they seem to be doing their best to alienate any progressives that still exist in the party.
"They want to see courageous individuals standing up in the face of adversity, setting aside partisan kindergarten namecalling and gameplaying, and actually trying to stare down the neocons on some specific questions of life-and-death importance to the people. "
As I said in an earlier thread today, McCallum was on CBC radio this morning, soothing the financial people and telling them that a coalition government would be looking after them.
Not much different than what Flaherty is doing already. Solving the problem of too much concentration of wealth by throwing more of our money at rich people.
We have the problem of having one opponent in politics (Tories) , that presents itself in two political parties. (Conservative and Liberal)
Clearly, they have to be taken on one at a time.
Fortune has dropped the Liberals in our laps, and yet there are so many who are determined to grab defeat from the jaws of victory with this coalition.
I think the problem that Tommy refuses to recognise is that you can only replace the liberals if you take a big step to the right and ape their ideas.
And left wing partys can never fundraise like right wing partys. The trickle down right wing religion is one that rich people are happy to fund. Rich people have more money so you can never compete in the holy free market with them. The idea of pissing on plebes (thats why it is called trickle down) is much more appealing than the alternative to them.
Thats the way the world has been for thousands of years. It is you who is trying to grab defeat by allowing the conservatives to defund your party.
Fortune has dropped the Liberals in our laps, and yet there are so many who are determined to grab defeat from the jaws of victory with this coalition.
Left-wing parties can fundraise effectively if given the right circumstances and motivation. The right circumstances exist in Canada currently unless Harper is allowed to change it, however motivation to properly fundraise with small donations does not yet exist or has not been implemented correctly.
My understanding is that the trickle down economics is what brought us to this place and is already being defeated in many countries right now, so why let Harper give it a lifeline by remaining in power?
Comrades, I say a coaltion government is not a question of principle but of tactics and strategies. We are facing a crisis of capitalism, economically, politically and military. Given the current crisis in canad,, and we are in a economic,political and military crisis in Canada (remember Afghanistan and Iraq and Obama and GM going under and a Byng=King Ontario 1985 parliamentary power shift , with all its legal and democratic and consituional arguments and power plays going on, as the right wing mobilizes its masters and its masses to keep state power, I have some faith in my party and my leader. I beleive Jack is a master strategist putting together an arrangment that is principled and can advance the interests of the working class.
GO JACK GO!!!
Translation:
Let the Conservatives govern while we wait for the NDP to do something it hasn't come close to doing in its 47-year history (not to mention the previous 28 years of CCF).
Translation:
Bring down the Conservatives and watch while the next election produces a Conservative majority which we can then not bring down at all.
Did they hire McCain's campaign team, or what?
It is that kind of incisive political analysis that garners them their massive support amongst Canadian voters.
___________________________________________________________________________________________From North of Manifest Destiny
I get the feeling I am not as socialist as the good people at fight back are, however, they are certainly right about this:
There is a historic opportunity here to change the balance of forces of Canadian politics and it cannot be thrown away. Let the Liberals and Conservatives take responsibility for the crisis of the capitalist system they defend...
If we throw a life line to the Liberals now, then the game is over. It's the NDP saying we'll always be a third party, and will forever be pleased to watch governments oscilate between one flavour of Tory and the other, forever thwarting the designs and interests of working people.
While I fully agree with you about the character of the Liberals, Tommy, I think I fully disagree with your analysis above.
Bob Rae and the ONDP threw a lifeline to the Liberals in 1985. Within five years, they were elected to government - for the first and last time ever. Instead of being a third party, their tactical move declared they were prepared to make temporary compromises to achieve gains for workers and others - just as they did with the "NDP budget" of 2005.
What went wrong? Once in power, they forgot why they wanted to get there. Now that they were first, they decided to act like the Liberals. The voters told them to f*** off, and 13 years later, they are further away from the reins of power than ever.
So, my conclusion from history is different from yours. Canadians don't like political parties much. I'm very Canadian in that way. They want to see courageous individuals standing up in the face of adversity, setting aside partisan kindergarten namecalling and gameplaying, and actually trying to stare down the neocons on some specific questions of life-and-death importance to the people.
If the NDP can do that - hell, if the Bloc can do that - it will secure itself credit that will last it a long time.