Fleishman Hillard: The Political View

First, a confession and a mea culpa. Back in 2002, I was retained by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to support then-FCM President Jack Layton in pushing his housing, homelessness and infrastructure agenda onto the national agenda. In the end, Jack got billions of dollars and a national media profile, and parlayed it all into a much bigger job as leader of the NDP.

I’m not saying he’s there because of me or my activities – he was a force of nature when it came to grabbing media time – but ever since then I have harbored guilt over whatever small role I did play in his rise to what passes for power in the NDP.

Now, I’ve never been one of those people that fawned over his hallowed predecessors, the NDP saints Ed, David and Tommy, but they at least had depth, commitment and real principles that didn’t blow around violently in the political wind. Watching Jack over the past few years of Liberal and Conservative minority governments I have only one question: Does he even have principles? Or is it all about media ops and the politics of the second?

Everyone says the next election will be the watershed for Jack Layton, but I think that his real watershed was two elections back, when he chose to back a government diametrically opposed to everything his party and its saints stood for nothing but a few table scraps off the massive deficit Jim Flaherty was only just starting to build.

I can’t bear to watch Jack on TV anymore. Not because of his smarminess, vapid media lines and empty ultimatums, but because he represents nothing of significance. No beliefs, no potential, no lines in the sand. Under his leadership, the NDP is just sucking the air out of those who actually believe in the need for progressive federal policies.

Sorry.