Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen is receiving praise from an unlikely source – the right-leaning Winnipeg Sun.
In a Nov. 23 column, the Sun’s Tom Brodbeck termed Pettersen a “brave soul” for joining dissident cabinet ministers in calling for Premier Greg Selinger’s resignation.
“What looked like a sure-fire scheme to pry Selinger’s fingers from the seat of power on Broadway failed in the most spectacular fashion possible,” wrote Brodbeck, himself no fan of Selinger’s.
“Former cabinet ministers Jennifer Howard, Theresa Oswald, Stan Struthers, Andrew Swan and Erin Selby thought if they acted in concert, the collective strength of their positions in cabinet would surely convince others to follow their lead in calling for Selinger’s resignation.”
The plan didn’t work, Brodbeck wrote, as others who had considered adding their voice to the cause “stopped dead in their tracks” when push came to shove.
“They got cold feet, had a change of heart or took a wait-and-see approach,” he added. “Maybe the premier got to them. Maybe they didn’t have the courage of their convictions.
“Whatever the case, they left their colleagues in the lurch and stayed right where they were.
“There was one brave soul from northern Manitoba who did follow, Clarence Pettersen, the MLA for Flin Flon. But that was it.”
Significant cost
For Pettersen, the cost of that bravery has been significant. Though he continues to sit as a New Democrat, he has been barred from caucus meetings and from contributing to government decisions – except through his votes.
While Pettersen has said he stood up for what he believed in when he sought Selinger’s resignation, some of the MLA’s constituents wonder how the outcome can be good for Flin Flon.
Thomas Heine, a Liberal who lost to Pettersen in the 2011 election, said he’s not sure whether the situation means the province will invest less in Flin Flon.
But Heine said Pettersen’s influence has diminished to the point that although he calls himself a New Democrat, he is more like an independent.
“The reality of the situation is that he is now completely sidelined from the decision-making process and as such he is no longer the person that the electorate voted into office,” said Heine.
“He’s decided that he’s still going to wrap himself in the NDP cloak and hope that eventually he will be embraced with open arms back into the NDP fold, but certainly not by Greg Selinger, and he is the leader of the NDP.”
According to the Sun, Pettersen and the other caucus rebels did not know what last week’s throne speech would contain until it was presented to the legislature.
Tory MLA Shannon Martin told the Sun that Pettersen and three other New Democrats, in addition to the five now-former cabinet ministers, refused to participate in a standing ovation for Selinger.
Good rapport
Those who have attended past public events involving Selinger and Pettersen have commented that the two men appeared to have a good rapport.
Pettersen has said his call for Selinger to step down is not personal, as the MLA believes the premier’s unpopularity risks the NDP’s chances in the 2015 election.
Selinger will face a party leadership vote in March, at which time New Democrats will decide whether to retain him as leader.
Selinger, 63, took over the reins of the NDP in 2009, defeating Thompson MLA Steve Ashton and Minto MLA Andrew Swan in a leadership race.
In 2011 Selinger led the NDP to its biggest majority in provincial history. Today’s polls, however, show the party trailing the opposition Progressive Conservatives.
Pettersen, a retired teacher who grew up in Flin Flon, became MLA in 2011, easily defeating Heine of the Liberals and Darcy Linklater of the Tories.
To win the NDP nomination, Pettersen bested Tom Lindsey, then a union official at Hudbay, and Leslie Beck, now a Flin Flon city councillor.
