Rx for a defeated party: a dose of humility

On October 8, 2013, the New Democratic Party of Nova Scotia suffered a humiliating defeat. Barely one Nova Scotian in four voted NDP, marking the first time in 131 years that Nova Scotia voters failed to give a government a second term. Instead, they reduced the NDP from 31 seats to 7—and to within 4,000 votes of having no seats in the house at all. Premier Darrell Dexter lost his seat to an unknown. Deputy Premier Frank Corbett came within 158 votes of losing the seat that has, for the last half century, voted NDP more than any other riding.

It was an epic electoral disaster.

Frank-CorbettWhy am I rehashing this? Because it behoves a party that has suffered such profound rejection to show a touch of humility. To accept the verdict with a period of respectful quiet, as a chance to listen, to reflect, and to consider what role a party so rebuffed might carve out for itself in the future.

What a humiliated party should not do is use childish legislative tactics to force a strike in the province’s largest health district against the will of two parties that won 44 of the legislature’s 51 seats. What such a party should not do is line up behind the most strident labour leader in the province, in support of a strike over demands for staffing guarantees that do not exist in any other province.

Just nine months ago, Labour Minister Frank Corbett pushed through legislation to prevent a strike by paramedics, saying, “What I really have to think of here is the health and safety of Nova Scotians.”

The health and safety of Nova Scotians was far from his mind last week when, as third party house leader, Corbett blocked similar legislation long enough to enable a dangerous strike, then forced an unseemly, midnight-to-8 am sitting of the legislature to end the unnecessary strike after one day.

A salient feature of the last election was the nearly complete turnover of the NDP’s longtime Metro bastion to the Liberals. Thousands of provincial civil servants who had voted NDP for years switched to the Liberals after seeing how miserable the NDP was to work for once it finally gained power.

The party’s surviving MLAs, motley cast that they are, should play the hand they’ve been dealt, and not try to live out some class struggle fantasy from the early 20th Century. New Democrat MLAs should endure a period of living with tails between their legs, while they begin the decade- or decades-long task of rebuilding trust, and persuading Nova Scotians they still have something to offer.