An unpleasant surprise

On a day which should have provided another excellent opportunity to highlight the continued interchangeability of the federal Libs and Cons, word comes out that the Manitoba NDP has inexplicably followed the federal Libs' example in rejecting (and in this case repealing) a one-member, one-vote system:

In a surprise move, the provincial New Democrats voted yesterday to overhaul the way they'll choose their next leader.

Gone is the system of "one member, one vote" favoured by the grassroots and many party activists living in far-flung rural ridings.

Instead, party activists at yesterday's NDP convention narrowly voted to return to the old delegate system that elected Premier Gary Doer nearly a decade ago.

As already pointed out by Kuri and Northern BC Dipper, the move is nothing but a damaging one from the standpoint of internal democracy. And it's particularly galling that the OMOV system was never even given a chance to select a leader: while there might have been more reason for a change back if some perceived harms of an OMOV system had come to pass, the move instead prevents Manitoba's NDP from even trying out a system which would decentralize power and give more of a say to members who aren't able to be on the convention floor.

That said, I'd think there's room for a forward-looking response. It may well be that the convention was simply a relatively small one where the issue didn't figure to be a primary concern, which would have facilitated a push by the anti-OMOV crowd without too much fanfare or thought.

But if the NDP members who voted for the OMOV system previously join forces again, and Gary Doer holds onto the party leadership until at least another convention down the road, then it could well be possible to reverse the decision before the leadership system next comes into play. And hopefully it will turn out that it's this weekend's turnaround - and not the previous move toward OMOV - that represents only a temporary shift in the direction of Manitoba's NDP.