It might be hard for some people to believe, but the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) has been searching for a permanent leader.
There has been little talk about the leadership vacancy, which has existed since Cam Broten stepped down following the NDP’s most recent crushing defeat in the 2016 provincial election.
Trent Wotherspoon spent more than a year as the party’s interim leader, and impressed with his work in that capacity. But it took more than a year after Broten’s resignation for somebody, Ryan Meili, to step forward and say he wanted to guide the NDP.
Meili has run for the party’s leadership twice, finishing second both times. His announcement that he was running for the party’s leadership was relatively quiet, considering his high profile and the strength of his support.
Interest in the leadership finally picked up on Tuesday, when Wotherspoon announced he was stepping down as interim leader, and he was seriously considering running for the party’s leadership.
Most will tell you that when he says “seriously considering,” he means he will be running for the leader’s job.
It sets up an interesting showdown. Meili is brilliant and engaging, and has spent significant time practicing medicine in rural Saskatchewan. But he also represents the hard left wing socialism that many in the party want to move away from. It’s becoming harder for that brand of socialism to succeed in Saskatchewan.
Wotherspoon isn’t as charismatic as Meili, but he has experience that Meili lacks, and brings a more pragmatic approach. He has taken business administration courses. And he has done an effective job of steering the party over the past year.
If Wotherspoon does indeed enter the leadership race, it will be an intriguing showdown between the two camps. They both have the ability to be effective leaders. Both could one day be the premier of the province. But while they have similar ideas in many areas, they also have some differing philosophies in others. Those opinions would come to light in a leadership race.
This showdown also comes at a challenging time for the governing Saskatchewan Party. For the first time since the Sask. Party took over the leadership of the province in the fall of 2007, the party is lagging behind the NDP in public opinion polls.
The current term has not been kind to the Sask. Party. Their budget in March, filled with spending cuts and tax increases, infuriated a lot of people in the province.
The Sask. Party has nearly three years to regain support and put themselves in position for a fourth term, but the last few months have given the NDP confidence in winning the next election, something they haven’t had since the Sask. Party took office.
It’s another storyline that adds intrigue to an NDP leadership race that’s likely to get a lot more interesting.
