Conventioneering: Conclusions

Here is a Jack Layton bobblehead, hand-made out of great Canadian plaster in some Quebec riding, available for a limited time for the low introductory price of $20. I did not buy one.

The convention was a fascinating experience - it was my first time seeing one live, and I had no idea of the centrality of Robert's Rules of Order and how much damage a vaguely composed agenda could cause. I also got a lot of insights into the institutional configuration of the NDP as a party - there is no pool of federal members, but instead the party is stitched together from subsidiary organizations, like the riding associations, youth groups, unions, and vulnerable identity representation (for aboriginals, gays, women, the disabled, and visible minorities, though I may be forgetting something). Therefore, if you join the party outside of these constituent groups, you're kind of on your own, which is a tough place to be.

Are the NDP ready for prime time? Smartly dressed Quebecois parliamentary aide wearing hipster glasses and acknowledging the need for compromise says yes, but elderly man in tie-dye handing out leaflets on marijuana legalization says no. The balance is not yet on the side of the former. The usual knock on the Conservatives is that they are out of touch with regular Canadians - it could be said that the NDP is out of touch with reality. There's truth to both statements, which places voters in a tough corner.

Also, there is no one to replace Jack Layton.