Two Thirds Of "Liberals" Support Merger

There is a sleeper issue within the coming Liberal leadership race that has yet to come forth, but will manifest, of that I have little doubt. The idea of a merger, co-operation, arrangement, an extension of the Nathan Cullen thrust, someone will champion. Why? Because the topic is fertile ground:

More interesting is whether any Liberal leadership hopeful campaigns on a ticket of supporting a merger of the left, "because clearly a majority of Liberal party supporters think it's a good idea," Bricker said. Sixty-four per cent of Liberal supporters and 57 per cent of NDP voters said they "strongly" or "somewhat" support their parties merging into a single party.

Here's the kicker, the Liberal race has the capacity to appeal beyond hardcore partisans, those LEAST likely to support an idea which challenges the narrow established tribalism.  Without the "supporter" component, talk of co-operation and mergers is dead on arrival.  But, with the potential of less invested participation, there is a built in capacity to find the spark required.  The conversation goes nowhere without the proper advocate, but the above finding demonstrates the audience is there for the right motivator.

I don't believe I've seen any finding wherein 2/3rds of remaining Liberal voters favour a merger.  Add to that a decent majority from the "riding high" NDP supporters and you have a compelling backdrop.  Again, diehards will resist, but these polls reach beyond party membership and into the realm of average voters, this audience isn't invested enough to share the flag affections.  As well, partisanship tends to cloud certain synergies that those less devoted can easily ascertain.  In other words, a certain detachment actually provides better perspective.

So, who is going to come out of the shadows and be the pro-merger, co-operation, arrangement candidate?  Make no mistake, it will be someone and I predict she/he will be a force.  The general public is well ahead of partisans on this score.