We’re back.
It’s become the rallying cry for the Alberta New Democrats during the current election campaign.
The New Democrats are counting on their feisty leader Pam Barrett to lead them back into the legislature in the March 11 election but it’s not going to be easy.
Six months ago they had no leader, no seats and no money. In the 1993 election, the New Democrats lost all 16 seats it had held and the party that was once the official opposition lost hope.
In a recent Edmonton Journal poll taken half way through the campaign the Progressive Conservatives held a solid lead. Fifty-six percent of decided voters said they prefer the Tories, 23 percent the Liberals and eight percent of those polled said they preferred the New Democrats.
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But when the numbers are broken down there are a few ridings that are New Democrat-friendly, especially in Edmonton.
Barrett has made no secret that she doesn’t expect the party to form the next government. She wants four seats in the legislature.
The party is setting its sights on some key Edmonton ridings and two rural ridings: Dunvegan, in the Peace region, once the riding of former NDP leader Grant Notley; and the new riding of West Yellowhead, near Jasper. The old riding of Yellowhead was represented by a New Democrat from 1989-93.
The New Democrats are running a bare bones campaign and are spending much of their energy in the key ridings hoping for a few seats.
“We target our ridings and we work the dickens out of them. That’s how we get the seats,” said Barrett.
During a recent phone-in radio show on CBC, callers were friendly and seemed pleased to see Barrett back in politics. She resigned before the last election for health reasons and has written a newspaper column and hosted television and radio talk shows since then.
Conscience of legislature
One Calgary caller said: “I really hope a few people get in. I believe the NDP are the conscience of the legislature.” But she also wanted to know where the New Democrats have been since the last election.
Barrett said the period has been a “very demoralizing time” for party members.
Former leader Ross Harvey crisscrossed the province trying to rally support but to little avail.
“It took getting closer to an election to breathe fire back into the grassroots,” Barrett said.
