Dexter doing more than biding his time

Never let it be said that provincial NDP leader Darrell Dexter doesn’t have his ducks in a row.

He roared into Hants County and met with Journal staff late Tuesday afternoon as part of a whirlwind tour through this neck of the woods, offering insight and making a demonstrable show of support for members of our beleaguered farm community.

The more cynical among us might suggest that this was just window-dressing; the leader of the Opposition making some political hay.

But that perception is far too narrow. We think Dexter has a much more ambitious agenda that could very well see him in the premier’s chair after the next election.

To be sure, the NDP couldn’t be in a better position. The Liberals don’t have a leader at the moment and Dexter’s personal popularity is not an issue. In fact, pundits have said for some time that if Dexter were with another party, he’d have been premier long ago.

As well, the Rodney MacDonald-led Tories have stumbled from one disaster to another: from Potatogate when MacDonald took office to the Heather Foley Melvin soap opera to turning a blind eye on our agricultural industry and then the Fage fiasco involving a Christmas party, live video and whodunit.

It would make perfect sense for Dexter to build a credible platform using agricultural issues as planks. We all have to eat and with the hog and poultry industries in this region taking successive hits, it’s a no-brainer that a politician as canny as Dexter has scented the wind and seen the future.

A lot of people are pretty ticked right now, too, especially since there’s a general feeling of neglect in favour of political expediency associated with the Tories.

We’ll say, however, that an NDP victory isn’t a gimmee. When it comes to elections and how the public will vote, it’s anyone’s guess and then some.

But spring isn’t too far away and if you look around, NDP candidates are well positioned with serious potential. Sean Bennett, David Mangle, Jim Morton and Greg Hubbert - looking at Hants and Kings county ridings - have all shown well in recent campaigns. And if the zeitgeist is such that change is necessary, to whom shall the electorate look?

To a Liberal party with a newly minted leader that may not have a provincial profile, or to the NDP and Dexter, who has paid his dues politically and emerged as the people’s choice?

Don’t be surprised if we head to the polls either this spring or during the summer. The clock is ticking and Darrell Dexter knows it.