Editorial

The Crisis of Leadership in Canada

Within the next year or so, every Canadian parliamentary political party, with the exception of the Bloc Quebecois, will have chosen a new leader, hoping to put an end to the crisis of representative democracy in Canada. The NDP has elected a new leader this weekend, but its prospects for electoral success remain bleak. The Canadian Alliance has chosen two new leaders over the past couple of years, but its fortunes continue to slide - to under 10 percent popular support in some polls. The Conservative leadership race is shaping up as a non-event, with no champion emerging who can turn that party around. As for the Liberals, Paul Martin has already been declared the unofficial winner, which means that he will be thoroughly discredited before he even has a chance to ascend to the throne in a year's time.

However, the crisis of leadership is not confined to the parliamentary parties. The sovereigntist movement in Quebec is also floundering, split on the issue of neo-liberalism and unable to chart a path forward. The various movements against the status quo - against neo-liberalism and capitalism, against imperialism and war - also lack a cohesive ideological or political direction and organization which could make them politically effective. In other words, literally every section of the Canadian political spectrum is experiencing a crisis of leadership. However, the reasons for being in crisis vary.

The parliamentary political parties are in crisis because they are unable or unwilling to provide a vision for Canadian society which strikes any sort of resonance with vast numbers of Canadians. The economic elite which controls Canada has abandoned the nation and is seeking greater economic, political and military integration into the American Empire. Any parliamentary party hoping to come to power must either support that agenda or face extinction. However, any political party openly presenting such a treasonous vision to the Canadian people will also face extinction. So all of the parliamentary parties are forced to say one thing while doing the opposite, which is fueling a credibility crisis of the first order. Furthermore, there is really no way out of this crisis for them, short of abandoning the entire system of liberal democracy.

The leadership crisis of those who oppose the status quo is of a different quality; it is not a crisis of vision or even a lack of individuals capable of presenting a vision; rather, it is a crisis of organization. Fortunately, this is a crisis with at least some prospect of being overcome. However, those who are working to build a broad, effective movement against the status quo invariably encounter pressure from both outside and inside the movement to remain mired in small-group mentality, a mentality marked by sectarianism and complacency on the one hand and an unrealistic euphoria on the other. As a result, attempts to forge greater political and organizational unity are often met with indifference, hostility or both.

International capitalism is slipping into profound economic and political crisis and U.S. imperialism appears determined to self-destruct. A revolutionary crisis is maturing in many areas of the world and there are even possibilities for such a crisis in Canada. However, a revolutionary crisis does not necessarily translate into revolution, nor even into an advance for the progressive forces. It can just as easily translate into counter-revolution and terrible setbacks, especially if the people are not ready to advance their own cause. Argentina is an example of a country where a similar crisis of leadership affects the entire society; the capitalists can no longer rule, but the people are not able to seize power either. If neither side in Argentina can give rise to a leadership capable of uniting the nation behind it, then that country is headed for chaos and disaster.

Canada could easily face a similar fate. If the progressive forces in Canada fail to unite and provide the leadership that Canadians are demanding, then any talk of peace, progress and social justice amounts to nothing but hot air and posturing. Without such leadership, the crisis facing Canada will continue to deepen and broaden and Canadian society will, like Argentina, slowly sink into chaos. This is the reality facing the progressive forces in Canada today.