[LINK] "Evan Solomon on guillotines, long knives and politics"

[rfmcdonald]

Last week, Canadian political journalist Evan Solomon wrote about how the NDP and Conservatives need to renew themselves.

Sixty seconds to debate whether Canada should join the fight in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State. Sixty seconds to make a point about the fairness of income-splitting. Sixty. Seconds.

“The one-minute rule for caucus debate simply doesn’t allow meaningful discussion of complex issues,” Conservative MP Mike Lake wrote in the extraordinary letter he sent colleagues as he was making his failed pitch to be interim leader of his party. “On many occasions, a lack of a good hearing within caucus led to the frustrated [MP] venting outside of caucus. Both scenarios are extremely corrosive.”

Of all the critiques that have emerged about Stephen Harper’s authoritarian style, Lake’s candid revelation that MPs were limited to political haikus behind the secret, closed doors of caucus is, perhaps, the most devastating.

Of course, all parties come together publicly around policy; that’s understandable. And with almost 160 MPs and 60 senators, there was a genuine need for Harper to impose discipline on the debate, but Lake reveals that this was more than a matter of time efficiency. It was emblematic of what he called a “corrosive” internal culture that finally ate away at Harper’s own team and, ultimately, his hold on power. The Conservatives now face a very tough road to renewal.

The NDP faces similar questions about renewal, and a more complex problem of leadership. This week, senior NDP members quietly met to go over their first post-election report on what went wrong. Will Tom Mulcair get to lead the party into the next election, or should he announce he is stepping down before the April leadership review?