No green on the other side

Victor Lau mingles after the election at the Hungarian Club in Regina. Photo by Jamie Fischer.

by Jamie Fischer

It looked like an ordinary night at the Hungarian Club on Nov. 7. Great Western bottles and Dixie cups were scattered across low bar tables, pizza boxes were piled to the side, and a ‘green’ crowd was glued to the wide-screen TV. But on this chilly Monday night, they weren’t here to cheer for the Riders.

The Green Party of Saskatchewan had a casual crowd taking in the election results. There were no suits, tablecloths, or even a podium and, despite not electing a single MLA, the mood was light.

“I feel relieved,” Victor Lau, the party’s leader, said of the results. Lau finished up the campaign fighting against weather and a bout of the flu.

“I think overall the results show that we’re a growing party. We managed to beat our old percentage last time, but not by a lot,” he said.

According to Lau, two main obstacles hampered growth at the ballot box: funding and a lack of media attention.

“By the lack of coverage (the media) really did a disservice because they gave the Saskatchewan Party this overwhelming perception that they were invincible,” Lau said.

This perception could have contributed to some of the Sask Party’s overwhelming victories in certain ridings, he added.  “I don’t know if that’s good for our democratic system,” he said. 

The Saskatchewan Party’s Russ Marchuk beat both Lau and New Democratic Party leader Dwain Lingenfelter to represent the constituency of Regina Douglas Park.

The race was close, and Lau, with plenty of cheers from the crowd, received over 500 votes.

Despite this, he said he wasn’t responsible for splitting support away from the NDP. He said his support appeared to be the same as during the 2007 election, and that voters simply didn’t want Lingenfelter to represent them anymore.

 “I think we showed the NDP that if you’re not prepared to stand up for what’s right, then we’re going to be around to remind people and take their votes away,” he said.

The loss hasn’t damped Lau’s political spirit – he’s already thinking about his next move. The party will take a two week break before meeting to discuss the election results and how to move forward.

Like Lau, Green supporters couldn’t be brought down by the results. Psychology student and Green Party supporter Chris Edwards said the Green policy is essential for a sustainable future.

“Whether the Green Party forms government or not, the world has to evolve on an environmental level,” said Edwards. “Other parties will adopt our policies. They’ll have to.”