Should Carole James one day ascend to the premier's office in British Columbia, the NDP Leader may look back to a fortnight that stretched into December of this year as a pivotal period in her ultimate triumph.
One day after being the target of a withering attack by an NDP stalwart, Ms. James shot back Thursday: She will not accede to the wishes of MLA Jenny Kwan and 12 others in her caucus who want her gone. Instead, it is the dissidents who will have to decide about resigning.
"Every MLA will be held accountable for their behaviour," Ms. James told a news conference in the kind of stern, no-nonsense terms in which one doesn't often hear her speak.
It was a laudable performance under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The broadside from Ms. Kwan, who questioned Ms. James's integrity and governing style on Wednesday, came just 10 days after the party's provincial council met to deal with a burgeoning caucus revolt.
The council voted 84 per cent against a motion put forward by a handful of constituency associations – and supported by the 13 NDP MLAs who want Ms. James gone. The NDP Leader hoped her divided caucus would rally around that decision. It was wishful thinking.
Surrounded by 13 NDP MLAs of her own, Ms. James said she will hold an emergency caucus meeting on the weekend to let the so-called Baker's Dozen who want her out know where things stand. At that point they will have to decide whether to continue to serve as NDP MLAs or sit as Independents.
It is a risky proposition for those considering opting out. It means they will not be able to run as New Democrats in the next election – at least if Ms. James is leading the party. In that case, their political careers are likely over. That is a big decision to make.
It was a bold move by Ms. James, whom many thought would pack it in. After all, not many leaders carry on in the face of the kind of abuse she's taken recently. It may have helped forge her into the kind of tough-as-nails leader she needs to be.
Still, Ms. James knows that if the party's woes continue, it could repeat history and disappear into the same political wilderness that swallowed the Social Credit party 20 years ago when it couldn't halt its destructive infighting.
"Our party's history is at risk, our party is at risk and the opportunity to govern is at risk," said Ms. James.
Should she not be able to persuade the 13 dissidents to put down their arms and rejoin the battle behind her, it will certainly present the NDP with an enormous problem. With an opponent that badly divided, a new Liberal leader would be crazy to wait two years for the next election when he or she could call it any time after the leadership contest at the end of February. Why not exploit the NDP divide?
If the New Democrats were trounced at the polls thanks to the turmoil we are witnessing, that could well spell the end of the party as we know it. One could easily see a new, centre-left option – with none of the hefty ideological, class-warfare baggage that comes with the NDP – springing up in its absence.
While the caucus insurgents have cited a long list of reasons for their disaffections with their leader, her poor polling numbers and overbearing management style being a couple among them, this uprising is really about the sharp lurch to the centre they feel the party has made under Ms. James's leadership.
The NDP's more doctrinaire members, who include the Baker's Dozen, aren't comfortable with this direction at all. It matters not that the move might help capture essential votes that could put the party in power.
No, for them the party's platform should be built around raising the minimum wage, fighting child poverty and taxing the rich. There should be no room at the table for business. Reaching out to that group, as Ms. James is currently doing, is a waste of time, according to the Leader's most vociferous opponents.
But Ms. James indicated Thursday she has no intention of backing off her strategy to broaden the party's base of appeal. And if members of her caucus don't like it, they can go somewhere else.