A few posts back, I mentioned that the NDP would likely be best served looking to attract progressive Lib and Green supporters rather than aiming for a formal merger with anybody. Now, a couple of stories suggest that there should be a significant opportunity to bring environmental voters in particular into the fold based on the direction of the other parties.
From the Lib side, at least one supporter is figuring (and probably rightly so) that Stephane Dion's failures will lead to the environment being tossed aside as an issue. And I'd have to agree that the NDP should be ready to take the opportunity to provide a voice for those who may have been drawn to the Libs by the promise of a greener philosophy.
As for the Greens, they surely don't figure to drop the environment as an issue anytime soon. But with a push to remove Elizabeth May as leader winning praise from current and former members alike, at least some significant chunk of the Greens (likely the anti-May contingent) will find itself out in the cold. And particularly if May uses the Greens' limited review processes as her means of clinging to the leadership, the promise of a party which actually values internal democracy should be a fairly compelling prospect.
All of which means that if the NDP reaches out to green Libs and reformist Greens, the previous split in environmentally-conscious voters may largely resolve itself in time for the next federal campaign. And that end result would look to be a plus for both the NDP as a party and the environmental movement as a whole.
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