If you’re a member of the NDP you have two reasons to despair – Carol James and Jack Layton.

The federal problem is more immediate for the risk of an election is imminent – and the NDP are plunk in the middle of “nowheresville”.

I think part of the problem is Layton himself – he simply hasn’t caught on with voters. He has, since he entered Parliament, been the National Windbag but he’s been driven into that position by the lack of room left on the political spectrum.

It looked for awhile as if Prime Minister Harper was going to snatch the Tory collar and move it even further right but he seems to have finally understood that neither the left nor the right win elections – it’s Joe and Judy Middleclass who are moderate in all things. That’s not because they are necessarily right to be that way – it just happens to be an elementary fact of politics.

After the PM in effect sacked the embarrassingly antediluvian Vic Toews as Minister of Justice then jumped into the big “Green” pond that Canadian issues seem to be much about these days, he has repositioned himself.

When Stephane Dion became Liberal leader I thought the Liberals would want and win an early election. I should have looked a little better at my history. When the Liberals change leaders they come back strong as long as the leader came out of the convention with people saying, at worst, I’m for Joe even though I voted for Jack. This was Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien.

It was not John Turner and probably isn’t Stephane Dion.

The wounds in the party are deep. They have much fence fixing to do in Quebec, Ontario and BC.

They need time.

What is going to be interesting is the new commitment by all to “Greenness”. Bear in mind that a year ago when leaders were debating, not one question was asked of any of them on the environment and each refrained from bringing the issue up. Now, less than a year later, it’s all the rage.

Back to Layton.

The Tories have started to re-capture part of the “centre” and the Liberals, from the other side have done the same. Worst of all, Mr. Layton has two problems with the environment issue – the public knows that there’s dick-all he can do about it and each of his utterances will just sound “me too” to the voters.

Audrey MacLaughlin, Alexa McDonough, move over yet another vacancy has appeared at the top.