Selinger determined to stay in power during NDP leadership struggle

WINNIPEG – Greg Selinger is determined to remain in power as premier, even while fighting an internal party battle for leadership of the NDP.

The premier said Thursday the party’s constitution includes a mechanism for leaders to be challenged at an annual convention. But he admitted this has never happened while the NDP is in power.

“Not that I’m aware of in the current times,” Selinger said.

The NDP executive will meet Saturday to discuss the leader’s plan for a leadership vote at the party’s convention in March.

“I’ve proposed a solution that’s not a full-on leadership convention, but a chance to stand for election and to give other people an opportunity to do that and we’ll discuss that at the executive this week,” Selinger said.

Under Selinger’s proposal, he and other ministers who run for the NDP leadership would retain their cabinet jobs, and all the power to make funding announcement that comes with them.

Selinger wouldn’t say if this gives him an unfair advantage over potential challengers who aren’t in cabinet, such as the five NDPers who called on him to step down last month and were forced to resign from cabinet.

“You have to be careful about that but we have a primary responsibility to govern,” Selinger said. No one has yet come forward to say they will challenge Selinger for the leadership at the NDP’s convention.

Selinger made the comments Thursday while he attended a government funding announcement about a “Cyber Security Academy” at Sisler High School in Winnipeg. Education Minister Peter Bjornson was present at the event but he isn’t mentioned in the government’s news release about the announcement – only Selinger is.

When Selinger met with reporters shortly after the announcement, he initially declined to answer questions about the party’s leadership crisis.

“Before we get to that let’s see if we have any questions about the announcement today,” he said.