Parties & Leaders

Green Party: Andrew Basham

The Green Party of Manitoba ]

Andrew Basham is the newest leader of a Manitoba provincial party, elected to lead the Green party less than five months ago.

The Greens are considered a "fringe" element by some political observers, but they seemed on the verge of going mainstream during the provincial election in 2003, when then-leader Markus Buchart led the party to a second-place finish in the Wolseley riding with almost 20 per cent of the vote, reducing the Tories and Liberals to "also-ran" status.

The results stunned even Buchart. But the success wasn't enough to keep the party stable.

The Greens have been mired in confusion since the spring of 2005, when Buchart resigned, complaining party meetings and committees had been "hijacked" by a group of dissident members who "paralyzed" the party. Almost all other executive council members followed Buchart, leaving the Greens on the brink of collapse.

The party has spent the last year restructuring, including the election at which Basham took the helm. Current Green party members have avoided discussing the past problems, instead focusing on the party's hopes to repeat — and even surpass — its achievements in 2003 by running more candidates in more constituencies.

Basham's mother, Ardythe Basham, plans to take Buchart's place in the Wolseley riding, where the party has the most chance of being elected.

The odds on that are slim. While second place is nothing to shrug at — and some argue the green-minded voters in the riding may be disappointed with the New Democrats — the Wolseley constituency has been long held by the NDP.

The Green party needed some 2,300 votes to overtake the NDP in the last election, and the party might have a tough time convincing those thousands to support the Greens — especially if those voters believe the NDP may be in danger of losing its majority to the Tories.

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