Charlie Angus is laboring under a burden.At 54, the man who would be New Democratic Party leader is no longer the enfant terrible of left-wing politics in Canada.Nor is this 13-year veteran of the Commons an outsider looking in.Rather, he is a passionate yet experienced politician who knows that nothing is simple, that deals can and must be made and that compromises are sometimes necessary.If his party were to choose him as leader in the next few weeks, he would probably make a good one.Yet the NDP is at the point now where good may not be enough. Like the Liberals after the disastrous leaderships of Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff, it seeks a Messiah — a miracle worker.It wants someone who can undo the humiliation New Democrats suffered at the hands of Justin Trudeau in the last federal election.While few New Democrats are willing to admit it, many want their own Trudeau.From this comes the fascination with Jagmeet Singh. Like Trudeau when he ran for his party’s leadership, the Brampton MPP doesn’t yet have many accomplishments under his belt. At 38, he is still young.But like Trudeau, he has turned his stylish youthfulness into a formidable asset.Singh is not just a pretty face. He promotes an extensive policy agenda ranging from tax reform (he would reintroduce an inheritance tax on the well-to-do) to pension reform (he would replace universal old-age security with a new means-tested program).But the main pitch he makes to NDP members has nothing to do with policy. It is that he can win — that his charm, style and Sikh origins will allow the NDP to draw in voters, particularly from the suburbs, who have never before supported a left-leaning party.For New Democrats anxious to regain the status they held under Jack Layton, it is an intoxicating idea.For Charlie Angus, it must be galling.The former rock musician is running a classic outsider’s campaign — against unnamed villains at the centre of the party who, h ...
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