Premier Selinger has got to go, says NDP MLA

A northern Manitoba MLAsays Premier Greg Selingerhas got to go.

"We gotta have Greg resign now so that we can move forward," saidClarence Pettersen, a backbenchMLAfrom Flin Flon.

"He's had his career. It's time to move out and have somebody else lead his party so we can win the next election.

"I have a lot of respect for Greg [but] it would better for Greg to step down, hold his head up high and say,' you know,I did a lot for this province.' And I think he has, but you have to admit the polls that are out there aren't painting a very good picture for us.

• Finance minister won't resign after criticizing Manitoba premier
• NDP 'a dead duck' if Greg Selinger remains leader: political expert
• More Manitoba cabinet ministers suggest Greg Selinger step aside

"The people of Manitoba are saying it's time for a change in our party. So we gotta change."

Selingerwas inFlinFlonon Wednesday the opening of a skills centre andPettersenspoke to him for an hour, trying to convince him to resign.

Are you going to stay on and the Titanic's going down and you're not going to jump?- ClarencePettersen

"He knows where I stand. I tried to persuade him to resign for the betterment of the people of Manitoba notto think about himself, to think about what harm this will do to the people of Manitoba if we lose the next election,"Pettersensaid.

Selinger has been under a great deal of pressure in the past week as several high-profile cabinet ministers have publicly suggested he give strong consideration to stepping aside.

None have actually uttered the word "resign." Pettersen is the first elected official to say so, echoing the remarks made by party executives Becky Barrett andDarleneDziewit.

On Monday, Barrett, a vice president with theNDPexecutive, saidSelinger'sdecision to raise the PST from seven to eight per cent last year, despite promising in the 2011 election campaign that he wouldn't do so, has many peoplequestioning his leadership.

Barrett said people feel betrayed, which was a sentiment echoed byHealth MinisterErin Selby this week.

"People areangry, they feel the premier broke their trust and he hasn't been able to mend that," she said.

Recent polls have putSelinger'ssupport at all-time low.

"Are you going to stay on and the Titanic's going down and you're not going to jump?" asked Pettersen.

"What good is that for him, what good is that for the people of Manitoba, and what good is it for his colleagues that have put their career on the line?

I want us to pull together to fight the Conservatives, not fight each other."