Clarence Pettersen was confident Monday that he will return to government caucus meetings after Premier Greg Selinger survived a party mutiny co-led by the Flin Flon MLA.
Selinger’s victory in a weekend leadership vote raised the question of whether Pettersen, barred from caucus meetings last November for demanding the premier resign, will have his expulsion lifted.
“That’s up to Greg,” Pettersen told The Reminder. “I feel he’ll make the right decision, and whatever it is, is.”
Asked what he will do if the decision is to keep him out of caucus meetings, Pettersen reiterated his optimism.
“Well then we’ll come to that and we have to – I think he’ll make the right decision and we’ll see what happens when he makes it,” said Pettersen. “I can’t predict what will happen, but I’m confident I know the answer, but I have to wait for him to say it.”
Paul McKie, Selinger’s spokesman, said Pettersen’s future at caucus meetings rests with the caucus as a whole, not the premier.
“Any decision made about Mr. Pettersen’s status was decided by the NDP caucus and a recommendation made to the premier, which he accepted,” said McKie. “My understanding from a caucus [news] release in the fall is Mr. Pettersen’s status will remain as is until it is dealt by the Caucus Responsibility Committee. Any other queries along this line should be directed to the NDP caucus and not the premier’s office.”
This past Sunday, March 8, Selinger clung to the Manitoba NDP leadership – and the premiership – with a 33-vote victory over his chief rival, the Pettersen-backed Theresa Oswald.
Pettersen had accused Selinger of withholding internal polling showing the NDP is in trouble. He also said Selinger mishandled the 2013 PST hike and that his unpopularity risks dragging the party to defeat in 2016.
But Pettersen struck a fresh tone on Monday, saying Selinger now has his confidence. So what changed?
“Him winning this [leadership] election,” said Pettersen. “I thought he would step down before that.
“This has woke him up and it shows me the good characteristics that Greg has, the ones that maybe I was complacent in noticing. He has taken this challenge of leadership and it shows what kind of a great leader he’s going to be.
“He’s going to [make] history by almost being kicked out by his own caucus to winning the next provincial election, so I want to be part of that history.”
Pettersen acknowledged he was let down when NDP members gathered in Winnipeg chose Selinger over Oswald. Also unsuccessful was Thompson MLA Steve Ashton.
“It was a close race and as we got deeper into this in the last few months, I believed, and still believe, that Theresa was the frontrunner, the best one to take on [Progressive Conservative Leader Brian] Pallister,” Pettersen said. “But as we got into this I realized all three [potential] leaders would be able to defeat Pallister. Having said that, of course it’s disappointing. But you know what? You’ve got to hand it to Greg. I mean, he’s making history. He came back and I think he’s got his mojo, and we’re ready to go.”
Pettersen said he has no regrets about going public with his call for Selinger to step down.
“I believe what I did at the time was the right thing,” said Pettersen.
“[Selinger] asked for my honesty and I told him [he should resign]. And at that time I believed it.”
Pettersen said he still regards the NDP caucus as a family, with Selinger part of that.
But some have wondered whether Pettersen will face further retribution for going against the premier.
At a public forum late last year, retired Flin Flon MLA Gerard Jennissen suggested Pettersen may have difficulty convincing Selinger to sign his nomination papers for re-election.
Asked whether Selinger will deny Pettersen’s candidacy, McKie placed the onus on the Flin Flon NDP Association.
“That decision will and should be made by NDP members in Flin Flon and will follow the rules of the NDP constitution,” McKie said. “Any specific process questions can be answered by the party.”
McKie added that the situation involving Pettersen and Selinger will not impact government funding decisions related to Flin Flon.
Pettersen and five other NDP MLAs publicly suggested or stated that Selinger should resign last fall. All six MLAs were quickly barred from caucus meetings.
