Maturity

The Tories and the Bloc are furious. But, Robin Sears writes, the deal between the Liberals and the NDP is a sign of political maturity:

The Bloc and Tory hysteria at the NDP-Liberal agreement is just puerile rage at suddenly facing a majority government. The almost universally sneering reaction from conservative-leaning political journalists and pundits would be laughable, if it were not such a sad insight into their ignorance of how politics is actually lived.

Some commentators claim that the Dippers have committed political suicide. Not so, says Sears:

Those who say the NDP is the certain loser in such a deal choose to ignore the success of similar arrangements in Ontario, Saskatchewan and B.C. In each case the NDP was the clear winner, although in Ontario it took two elections for Bob Rae to claim his prize. Several cite the certainty that Justin Trudeau will dump the agreement and call a snap election, crushing the NDP. Again, wrong.

Each side will be judging progress and reaction from their base, daily. And each leader is free to call “time” when they judge the other not delivering. Some pundits declare with great certitude that Trudeau will never make good on his promises, making the NDP look like suckers. Highly unlikely, as it would only seal his reputation as an untrustworthy performance artist who never delivers.

Candace Bergen claims that Trudeau has neutered Parliament. Again, not so:

Some attack the agreement as merely a device to neutralize parliamentary oversight. Germany’s new three-party coalition has dramatically transformed their nation’s policy choices, and with the broad backing of the Bundestag. What happens under a deal such as this is often an empowerment of caucus members. The freedoms now granted backbenchers to share ideas across the aisle means that together they can put greater pressure on the monopoly of power that currently is held by leaders alone. Leaders who successfully manage such agreements must be especially sensitive, accommodating caucus sentiment. Jagmeet Singh will do better at this than Trudeau, if history is any guide.

Sears knows how these things work:

I was an operations manager of the 1985 David Peterson/Bob Rae accord in Ontario, and these conclusions are among the many lessons of that lived experience. Then as a close observer of European coalitions during six years working at the leadership level there, I witnessed the rich and complex changes that power-sharing creates in many of those democracies.

And, for those who are unhappy with the arrangement, consider the alternative:

The alternative is clear and horrific: the hyperventilating super partisanship of the U.S. polity today. This is the path that Pierre Poilievre would take his party down. That someone claiming to be a contender for prime minister would declare the Davos gabfests are proof of a global conspiracy to enslave the world is breathtakingly idiotic. But it will, no doubt, appeal to the enormous number of Donald Trump fans in the Conservative base that many polls reveal.

So, yes, the deal is a good thing. Now we turn to the challenge of making it work.

Image: kitchner.citynews.ca