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Comment by bryanlarsen | Hacker News Reader

> Trudeau's greatest mistake was not implementing the electoral change he campaigned on

Agreed. In an over-simplification,

- first past the post is the best for the Conservatives. (It was best for the Liberals before the Reform & Conservatives merged).

- single transferable is the best for the Liberals

- mixed-member proportional is the best for the NDP

Trudeau thought the electoral commission would give him the STV he wanted, but it was going to deliver MMP that would pretty much guarantee that he would have to coalition with the NDP. So he nixed it. He ended up with an NDP coalition anyways, so he didn't gain anything through the nixing. Instead FPTP is going to result in a Conservative landslide in 2025.

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I voted Liberal in 2015. Because of that betrayal, I never have since or will in future.

I wish you and others had just considered the NDP platform which has always supported electoral reform (MMP) and cannabis legalization. Two planks the Liberals "stole" in order to win (and one which they then promptly threw away).

Mulcair was ahead in the polls first half of that election. Trudeau came out of third place to win with his lie about electoral reform and by refusing to answer the question about the religious discrimination laws being introduced in Quebec.

Things could have gone very differently. Mulcair was a much more competent politician than Trudeau, and the NDP platform was more balanced. Though it may have been a challenge for him to assemble a fully competent cabinet.

Look at the NDP party this last term for their true colors. A leader who in his own words votes against a no-confidence vote made up of his very own words. Is an equal partner in every decision the liberal government made this term with their coalition.

A wolf in sheep disguise. I didn't want PP to be the next prime minister for comments in parent of the thread, but who else is going to win this running now?

I guess I'm not sure how you can fully square the two statements here.

- You don't want PP to be PM

- You're angry at the NDP for not voting to bring Trudeau down (and effectively make PP the PM)

I share your frustration with the NDP under Singh. But I'm not sure what alternative he has, tactically. Voting down the government at this juncture would only have led to an election that would have brought PP to power as PM. Which is notably not in the NDP's interests. (Or, I'd argue, the public's)

But, yes, I understand it tactically. But it's strategically inept. For 4 years the NDP has "won the battle but lost the war" -- all the policy planks they forced the Liberals to adopt will simply be dismantled by the conservatives now.

What they were hoping for is some recognition from the public that the progressive moves made by the Liberals in the last parliament were in fact NDP initiatives forced on them. Instead they're just tarred and feathered with the same image that Trudeau has.

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