Who leads the NDP if Eustace loses?

03.DEC.10

Editor: There is a very good chance that Luke Browne will defeat Arnhim Eustace on December 13. I say that not just because of the word on the street, but, also because of the way Arnhim and the NDP campaign are acting. They’re acting out of weakness, not strength.{{more}}

Consider that two of the NDP’s biggest events have been held in East Kingstown. Instead of placing their marquee events in constituencies they hope to swing to the NDP, they’re trying to save Arnhim from a very disciplined and impressive campaign from Luke Browne.

There’s more evidence. Consider that Vynnette Frederick chose to make her allegations (Luke is currently taking her to court for lying and besmirching his good name) about East Kingstown. When I heard Vynnette, it made me think that they were no longer trying to win Arnhim’s constituency on Election Day, but, instead, setting the stage to try and nullify the election in the courts after Luke Browne is declared the winner on election night.

Putting rallies in East Kingstown and casting a cloud on the result is a tell-tale sign that the NDP believes that there’s a real chance that Arnhim will lose.

What if Arnhim loses? There’s likely to be chaos in the New Democratic Party. There’s already a power vacuum within the NDP. St. Clair Leacock and Linton Lewis both control strong factions in the party and may well fight it out for the leadership in a post-Arnhim NDP. If the NDP crashes to a historic defeat, they may be forced to bear the indignity of having a party leader who is not an elected Parliamentarian.

Of course, in the end, Sir James Mitchell remains the puppetmaster, and whoever he supports is likely to become the new leader. What will be interesting to see is if the person who loses challenges Mitchell’s supremacy.

East Kingstown Proud