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If there was an award for “Political Party in the Process of Losing its Way,” New Democrats would run away with the nominations.

They have a leader who has failed to impress and who they may or may not want to win his byelection for a seat in Parliament. The former leader is now a political analyst who seems to specialize in noting the failures of his successor. They hold power in two important provinces, but the respective premiers are virtually at war with one another. And the party’s standing going into this year’s election is, to say the least, unencouraging.

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But if you want a real sense of just how disconnected the New Democrats have become from Mother Earth, spend a moment pondering their response to the crisis in Venezuela, which found itself with competing presidents when opposition leader Juan Guaidó took the oath of office in hopes of toppling the disastrous regime of Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro is successor to Hugo Chavez, the charismatic autocrat who sent one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries hurtling down the road to basket-case status. Maduro lacks Chavez’s political talents and rules by fear and force, prompting a mass exodus of up to three million Venezuelans seeking relief and safety in neighbouring countries.