Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump at the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain December 4, 2019. We often complain about politicians who fail to put country before party, but we fail to recognize the risks of propelling those to office who have never been required to put party before self.
Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Scott Reid is a political analyst and principal at Feschuk.Reid, and served as director of communications to prime minister Paul Martin.
The problem with politics these days is the alarming absence of party loyalty.
That might come as a shock to those who view the creep of overt partisanship with despair. But lost in that analysis is the fact that party ties don’t just bind partisans together, they help to strap down our entire political system – an essential, cohering function that is increasingly under duress. In fact, the erosion of party loyalty risks causing severe damage to our democratic traditions and speeding us even faster down a road where elected leaders recognize little obligation toward the political machines that deliver them into office, and therefore respect increasingly fewer constraints on their own exercise of power.
Story continues below advertisement
If left unchecked, this trend will inevitably produce more leaders of a certain sort: self-indulgent, isolated and even despotic in their tendencies.
The United States, not surprisingly, is the most immediate example of this concern.
Two of the candidates most likely to emerge as the Democratic presidential nominee are running in defiance of, as much as in service to, that party’s history and conventions. Senator Bernie Sanders, who was first elected to office as mayor of Burlington, Vt., by unseating a Democratic incumbent, has sat in Congress for decades as an independent. He has rarely displayed a willingness to suffer the sacrifices and compromises required of those who play the team sport of party politics. His campaign for the presidential nomination today, as it was in 2016, is a takeover bid – plain and simple.
Mike Bloomberg is just as concerning. A former Republican, he operates so solitarily that his only visible contribution to the Democratic Party appears to come from his cheque book. He has barely participated in the nomination process beyond the purchase of advertising, one historically atrocious debate performance and some splendid punking of Mr. Trump on social media.
The Republicans are an even greater catastrophe. The shameless farce of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial was roundly condemned as an example of excessive partisanship. In reality, it was a monumental, even suicidal, betrayal of party unity. Each of those senators placed Mr. Trump’s personal interests ahead of the collective interests of the GOP. In November, these Republicans – who used to argue for fiscal rectitude, smaller government and a robust foreign policy – will stand for election emasculated and inscrutable with no guiding beliefs beyond what they learn from Mr. Trump via Twitter tantrums.
So far, Canada has largely avoided this failing. Justin Trudeau served alongside caucus colleagues for years before becoming leader. The same can be said for Conservatives such as departing leader Andrew Scheer and frontrunners Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole. If anything, Canadian voters have tended to punish seeming carpetbaggers in recent years, such as Michael Ignatieff and Tom Mulcair.
Still, this threat reaches beyond the U.S. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson displays open disdain for the history and conventions of the political party he now leads. His rule has been punctuated by the expulsion of Conservative Party stalwarts and the condemnation of loyalty to any cause beyond that of which he approves. Brexit is a symptom, not a cause, of his leadership style.
Story continues below advertisement
Obviously, independence is not an inherent vice. Free-thinkers are needed within political parties to challenge stale ideas and unleash renewal. What might the 20th century have looked like without the iron example of the party-switching Winston Churchill?
But let’s not be surprised when leaders who lack any sense of project beyond their own self – who live their lives as free agents, and not team players – lack the empathy and perspective necessary to make decisions in the public interest.
We often complain about politicians who fail to put country before party. Yet we fail to recognize the risks of propelling those to office who have never been required to put party before self. Those who concede to the discipline of party loyalty and who occasionally quiet their own voice in service to a wider chorus, develop certain skills and accumulate certain lessons.
It just might be that these same skills and lessons help to teach our leaders that the advancement of one’s own agenda is not always the only thing that matters. Such education might come in awfully handy when, having been rewarded with power, we hope that these same leaders might govern within some fence-line of norms other than their own personal satisfaction.
Healthy and effective political parties produce better political leaders. And by teaching leaders the value of loyalty beyond themselves, even when that manifests as partisanship, our political parties serve a vital public service that is needed now more than ever.
Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
