This is the real reason that an NDP/ Liberal merger is impossible. The Liberal Party of Canada, if nothing else, is the party of the “NO” vote, the party of two official languages, and the party of the constitution.
As long as the NDP favours abandoning the Official Languages Act in federal workspace in Quebec an entente between the two parties is very difficult. Discoveries like this one, that Nycole Turmel was a Bloc member for five years from 2006 to 2011 will not truly be a significant factor in public opinion polls. Quebec voters will sigh and move on, since for them the Bloc is much more establishment than it is in other parts of the country. The major effect of this revelation will be to increase animosity between the Liberals and the NDP, who may agree on some economic and social issues but take very different approaches to national unity issues like the Official Languages Act or the Quebec Nation resolution.
In short, today is a very good day for Stephen Harper, who must feel increasingly attractive in the face of a divided opposition. Tactically speaking, the entity most likely to defeat his Reform/ Progressive Conservative Coalition is a merger of the NDP and the LPC, but events like this which highlight the deeply divided cultures of those two organizations will do much to prevent any future merger.
Many are taking this story personally as well. One NDP blogger, who I know personally and is a cool guy, is even going so far as to say that reporting on Turmel’s previous partisan allegiance is “harassment.” I won’t comment on the merits of that argument. I only point it out to show how angry this story is making both the LPC and the NDP, who would better be spending their time getting together than screaming at each other on the Internet.
