(Ottawa) Is she coming back to save the party? Because the pool of candidates did not seem promising? Former Green Party deputy leader Daniel Green is unsure why his friend Elizabeth May is trying to comeback. He knows, however, that he risks arousing his share of criticism.
Posted at 5:50 p.m.
“I was very surprised to learn that. I really thought she had moved on to another agenda. So clearly, I called Elizabeth. She did not take her decision lightly, she thought about it carefully, ”launches the environmentalist at the other end of the line.
“As to his motives, I do not know. Does she do it to save the party from itself? It’s possible. Does she do it because she has seen that among the candidates who present themselves, no one is up to her? Maybe. We should ask him, ”continues Daniel Green.
The main interested party, who led the training for 13 years before leaving in November 2019, cannot say a word. “The rules of the leadership race prohibit interviews. Sorry ! “, she wrote in an email sent to The PressFriday.
Elizabeth May’s plan is to show up with a running mate. She has set her sights on Jonathan Pedneault, a Quebecer who has worked in the NGO sector, notably at Human Rights Watch – this proposal would likely require an amendment to the Green Party Constitution.
Controversial because deja vu
If the idea is “interesting”, there is still a long way to go for the possible May-Pedneault tandem, believes Daniel Green. “It’s going to be very controversial […] because it’s deja vu. I already see people saying that it has had its day, that it should give way to young people, to diversity,” he predicts.
He is aware that some will kick in the stretchers. This is already the case of Alex Tyrrell, who was stripped of his membership card by the Green Party, and whose candidacy is thus in limbo. Daniel Green is not moved by it.
“Alex Tyrrell had less than 1% of the votes in the by-election in the riding of Marie-Victorin! Does he listen to voters when voters talk to him? Alex will harm the federal and provincial green mark, and the only person who does not see it is him, ”he storms.
And to return to Elizabeth May, “whether she wins or loses”, her unparalleled notoriety among the usual green candidates will allow the formation which is struggling with “serious financial problems” to bail out its coffers, argues Daniel Green.
The former leader who wants to become one again would succeed her successor Annamie Paul, whose passage at the head of the Green Party was particularly stormy. Under his leadership, the Green Party plummeted, garnering 2.3% of the vote in the October 2021 election, compared to 2.6% in the 2019 ballot.
The deadline for submitting an application form accompanied by 100 member signatures is August 5th. Following the verification and selection process, the party will unveil the official list of candidates on August 31. The new leader will be known on November 19.