Is a Liberal-NDP merger in the cards?

[CHIMO]

There’s been talk lately about the idea of a merger involving the NDP and Liberals. This brought to mind some experience I had researching the coming together of PC’s and the Reform/Alliance some years ago.

In that instance, (as in this current situation), polling data raised doubts about whether putting two parties together would be like adding one plus one and getting two. But while on the surface it appeared that some voters might reconsider their support for the party they voted for in the past, the reality is that the merger of the centre right and right has been largely successful.

And, as a consequence of that success, it is hard not to believe that the merger of the centre-left and left is a pre-requisite of long term competitiveness for those who support the Liberal Party.

It’s true that at any given point in time, anger with incumbents can grow, and if that happens the Liberal Party is in a position where it could form a government. But it seems to me that Liberal Party members need to be asking themselves: is it good enough to settle for being the fall-back, or as someone once termed it, “the spare tire” of federal politics.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bruce-anderson/is-a-liberal-ndp-merger-in-the-cards/article1589589/