LIBERAL PARTY STRUCTURE HOLDING THEM BACK
May 22, 2011Leave a comment
Before the Liberals paint the walls, they need to lay a new foundation. One of the biggest things holding the Liberal Party back from real change and renewal is their own internal party structure hampered by layers of bureaucracy and title holders. The way a party is structured affects its success as an organization and election fighting machine. It’s no wonder that the Conservatives and Liberals have exact opposite party structures.
Unlike the Liberals, the Tories have a very flat party structure. There’s a national council consisting of elected representatives from each province and territory who sit on council with the leader and they meet a few times a year to discuss party business. There’s no wings, no commissions, no special interest groups. There are no intermediate groups between the constituency associations and the national council. Every party member has an equal voice, regardless of their gender, age or ethnicity. This is a structure that empowers the grassroots base of party activists, volunteers and members, not title holders and party bureaucrats.
The Liberal Party structure is in stark contrast to the simple, flat organization of the Conservatives. They’re bursting at the seams with commissions, special interest groups and regional organizations. It seems like they have a title for everything, and everyone.
In addition to their national executive, the Liberals have multiple commissions and groups like the National Women’s Liberal Commission, Young Liberals of Canada, Aboriginal People’s Commission and Senior Liberals Commission. Each of these commissions has their own mandate, policy, budgets, events, meetings and executive. Combine their respective executives and staff and this adds a cast of 75 title holders.
The Liberal Party has affiliate organizations in each region of the country, each with their own board of directors, annual conventions, budgets, etc. The Liberal Party in Manitoba alone has 35 people on their board. Add together all the regional organizations this adds hundreds more title holders.
The Liberal Party also has a National Elections Readiness Committee with an astounding 37 people on the executive. With an executive that big, you’d think they would have actually been, well, ready for the election.
In 2006 the Liberals put together a “Renewal Commission”, which clearly failed to result in much renewal. What they need to do is cut commissions, not create more.
The layers of internal Liberal bureaucracy put barriers between the grassroots of the party and the executive. This top down approach puts the Liberals out of touch with their own base—which results in bad policy, bad decisions and kills on-the-ground organization. The Liberals current structure is also inefficient, expensive and impossible to manage. Nothing gets done.
In the private sector, when a company is looking to change for better, they trim the fat. The Liberals need to do the same. If they want real renewal and change, they should start with a simpler party structure that empowers party members, not title holders. And please, don’t create a commission to cut commissions.
