Carla Beck and the Sask. NDP have a path, but it's narrow and must be paved with more than finger-wagging

This Opinion piece is bySally Housser, who has served as chief of staff for Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP, and as press secretary for NDP leaders Rachel Notley and Jack Layton.

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Congratulations and commiserations to new Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck. I was trying to think of the most appropriate analogy to capture the long road ahead and I'm afraid this is the one I landed on:

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The NDP in Saskatchewan has become too comfortable being the conscience of the Legislature (in its own mind, of course). It perceives itself as the voice of reason. A moral authority.

That's been a killer for the party here and for progressive movements across the western world. Lefty leaning parties are now perceived as mouthpieces for toffee-nosed academic elites and not as movements for workers or, frankly, anyone else.

We love to get bogged down in policy. Our conventions are the Olympics of navel-gazing. We've become boring, finger-wagging lecturers. Nobody likes that.

For the party to move forward, the NDP needs to understand one simple truth: making policy is the reward for good politics. You can have all the good ideas in the world, but if you don't get to execute them it's just pie in the sky.

Like many New Democrats, I'm an eternal optimist. With the election of Carla Beck, I've got high hopes.

There were two clear visions for the Saskatchewan NDP put forth during this leadership contest.

Beck, a long-time MLA representing Regina Lakeview, won the most decisive Saskatchewan NDP leadership victory since 1961.

The leadership convention itself was bigger and younger than any previous one I've been to in Saskatchewan. Much credit has to be given to the party organizers for putting on a great show. Unfortunately, the number of eligible voters in the contest was down from the last leadership race. Part of that is due to having only two candidates in the race, but those dwindling numbers are cause for concern.

Party membership is no longer fashionable, that's a fact that crosses the political spectrum. For the NDP however, low membership numbers is symptomatic of a larger problem. The people of Saskatchewan don't see themselves in our party.

The road to government is not in downtown Regina or Saskatoon. People across the province, specifically in suburban and rural Saskatchewan, have to believe that New Democrat leaders are on their side.

This is where the NDP has so much opportunity with Beck. She has deep rural Saskatchewan roots. She has the ability to bridge the divides that span the province.

The next few years are going to be challenging. With skyrocketing inflation and crumbling everything else, the NDP has the chance to rebuild trust with Saskatchewan voters. The opportunity is there. We've got to seize it. We've got to listen and not lecture.

I look forward to the day I can say Premier Beck. There's a lot of work to do for that day to come.

That work must have a singular focus: winning. Winning the trust and the hearts of the people of Saskatchewan. That's the only way you win government.

There is a path forward for Carla Beck and the NDP, but itneeds to be paved with a lot more than good intentions.

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