In London Ontario there's much weirdness in the London West by-election. Specifically, the Liberal candidate will be Ken Coran. That's weird, because Coran led the high school teachers' union during the recent bitter battles over the latest contract. Battles, that is, with the Liberal government, which tried to pass legislation limiting the union's ability to strike.
What's surprising about this is how not surprising it is. What other party would he support? He's not going to be running for the Conservatives; given half a chance, they'd go Wisconsin on the teachers' unions. Given that potential permanent damage, he'd also be unlikely to consider the NDP; unless he thinks Andrea Horwath can put the party into contention for victory, it would be an expensive principled stance.
It's a great example of how far the strange mixture of realpolitik and idealism in our world has come. You can be fighting tooth and nail with someone, yet still consider them your closest political ally.
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