Beleaguered NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has turned to New Democrat veteran Michael Balagus to give her flagging party a course correction, the Star has learned.

The party is expected to announce later this week that Balagus, former chief of staff to Manitoba NDP Premier Greg Selinger and to former premier Gary Doer, will be Horwath’s new chief of staff.

“He is a consummate professional, high demanding, the trains run on time under Michael’s watch and he provides professional expert advice,” said Brad Lavigne, former national director of the New Democratic Party and author of Building the Orange Wave: The Inside Story Behind the Historic Rise of Jack Layton and the NDP.

“He’s the gold standard in terms of senior political staff within the New Democratic Party across Canada,” Lavigne said.

Balagus, who is currently the chief administrative officer at the Ontario Nurses Association, could not be reached for comment.

Under Horwath the Ontario NDP had a lacklustre showing in the June election, which she triggered by not supporting the then minority Liberal government’s budget. Her leadership is up for review in November and critics are saying her job is threatened after taking the party too far to the right during the election campaign.

A source within the party, who asked not to be named, said it is the kind of “course correction” the listless party needs as it begins to regroup after the election which saw the party lose three seats in Toronto — two of them held by NDP veteran MPPs.

In the wake of the June 12 election, Horwath blamed scared voters for the party ending up with as many seats — 21 — as it had when the election was called, but later acknowledged the results were bittersweet. Others were more direct, calling the NDP a debacle from the outset.

Balagus will be brought in to right the ship and hose the decks if necessary. Several insiders, have already left Horwath’s office, including her former chief of staff Gisele Yanez.

“Those who work with (Balagus) and for him understand that he demands excellence from people . . . Without question this is a major step toward Andrea’s election preparations as she gets ready for the next phase of her leadership,” Lavigne said.

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