And they're off!
Well the gun has officially gone on the Liberal leadership race. This is certainly going to be an interesting one, too; the winner has a chance to be the saviour of the Party. Although the election results were not as bad as many had predicted (okay, me, but I have an excuse - I was watching Allen Greg fellate Stephen Harper the last couple of weeks), the party comes out of the election badly bruised, broke, and facing real opposition for the first time in over a decade.
The war between Martin and Chretien has left the party without an heir-apparent in place. Previous leadership candidates either left of their own accord (John Manley) or were driven out by sore winner Paul Martin (Sheila Copps), so it is entirely possible that a dark horse could steal the laurels from likely front-runner Frank McKenna.
It's beyond doubt that McKenna is seriously considering the job, as he's been obviously building toward this very day for years. After leaving provincial politics in New Brunswick on his 10th anniversary as promised, he not-so-quietly returned to private life, working as a lawyer in always-glamourous Moncton and pulling down a few sweet part-time jobs including a post on the board of the Carlysle Group and as chairman of CanWest Global. From a purely financial standpoint alone he looks great - with his corporate connections he'll be able to fill the warchest up quicker than you can say "Trough time!"
His political history as a successful pro-business premier won't hurt either, though it remains to be seen if he can successfully make the transition to the national scene - I mean he's not even from Quebec! Also, by not going federal until now, assuming he does, he has managed to survive the Martin-Chretien Wars without taking sides and making any (known) enemies; thus he is enough of an outsider to come across as a breath of fresh air to the reeling party.
In preparation for this event, he shrewdly returned to public life a short time ago, agreeing to serve as Canadian Ambassador to the United States, a post in which he's raised a few eyebrows for making some rather more direct statements than Canadian ambassadors often make.
Which brings us to another reason why he might be considering a run for Liberal leadership - he very well could be looking for a new job. Stephen Harper's first order of business, aside from putting together a cabinet, will be to smooth the waters that have become decidely rough of late between the US and Canada; a good first step would be to re-evaluate McKenna's role as ambassador in favour of someone a bit less ambitious and a lot more loyal.
Other interesting potential candidates cited in the G&M today are Scott Brison, Bob Rae, Brian Tobin, Michael Ignatieff, and Belinda Stronach, among others. I don't really consider anyone in this group to be a credible contender, though they provide some interesting scenarios. Bob Rae is a past NDP premier (of Ontario) might be able to recover the votes that fled the party to the NDP this time around. Brian Tobin is obviously interested, judging from his full-spin mode performance the other night on the CBC election coverage. However any credibility he has in Newfoundland and in his own mind might be all he has to rely on - Captain Canada predates Martin-Chretien and his ship has long ago sailed.
Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, both having walked across the floor from the Conservatives would be interesting options and could open up some intriguing dynamics. Brison looked very Prime Ministerial in accepting his election nod the other night, though he could have done without chewing gum guy behind him during the speech he made on CBC. I don't think he has the machinery in place to make a successful bid yet, but he's young and he'll be around for a long time.
Stronach as leader would enrage the Conservatives so much in opposition that I think she might be able to cause some of the faux pas that Harper has managed to avoid throughout the last election campaign. It could prove entertaining if nothing else and be a definite boon to the opposition. I suspect that the rank-and-file Liberal (and a good portion of the electorate) probably view her with some suspicion after her grab for the leadership of the Conservatives two years ago and her subsequent walk across the floor into the front bench of the Liberal party. She could well prove to be fodder for the Conservatives in the long run, so I would count her out this time around.
Ignatieff is of course widely considered to be the annointed one. I seriously doubt he gave up his tenured position at Harvard to sit for a long time as the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, so I'd be surprised if he didn't throw his hat in the ring.
It might be a bit soon for him though; I have to wonder if he has enough of the party behind him. However, his hand may be forced by Martin's quick departure, the party is likely to try to avoid another Martin-Chretien war and will firmly rally around whoever is selected. If that person can deliver an election victory, and I believe the next time around it will be theirs to lose, they might have the job for a good long time. He's nearly 60 now and I don't know if he wants to wait another five or eight years.
Unfortunately for him, his political inexperience will likely outweigh his formidable lobal powers and the Liberals will probably want to go with someone with some political experience over a lenghty written record. Do you think Ignatieff would be happy maybe as ambassador to Ukraine?
The war between Martin and Chretien has left the party without an heir-apparent in place. Previous leadership candidates either left of their own accord (John Manley) or were driven out by sore winner Paul Martin (Sheila Copps), so it is entirely possible that a dark horse could steal the laurels from likely front-runner Frank McKenna.
It's beyond doubt that McKenna is seriously considering the job, as he's been obviously building toward this very day for years. After leaving provincial politics in New Brunswick on his 10th anniversary as promised, he not-so-quietly returned to private life, working as a lawyer in always-glamourous Moncton and pulling down a few sweet part-time jobs including a post on the board of the Carlysle Group and as chairman of CanWest Global. From a purely financial standpoint alone he looks great - with his corporate connections he'll be able to fill the warchest up quicker than you can say "Trough time!"
His political history as a successful pro-business premier won't hurt either, though it remains to be seen if he can successfully make the transition to the national scene - I mean he's not even from Quebec! Also, by not going federal until now, assuming he does, he has managed to survive the Martin-Chretien Wars without taking sides and making any (known) enemies; thus he is enough of an outsider to come across as a breath of fresh air to the reeling party.
In preparation for this event, he shrewdly returned to public life a short time ago, agreeing to serve as Canadian Ambassador to the United States, a post in which he's raised a few eyebrows for making some rather more direct statements than Canadian ambassadors often make.
Which brings us to another reason why he might be considering a run for Liberal leadership - he very well could be looking for a new job. Stephen Harper's first order of business, aside from putting together a cabinet, will be to smooth the waters that have become decidely rough of late between the US and Canada; a good first step would be to re-evaluate McKenna's role as ambassador in favour of someone a bit less ambitious and a lot more loyal.
Other interesting potential candidates cited in the G&M today are Scott Brison, Bob Rae, Brian Tobin, Michael Ignatieff, and Belinda Stronach, among others. I don't really consider anyone in this group to be a credible contender, though they provide some interesting scenarios. Bob Rae is a past NDP premier (of Ontario) might be able to recover the votes that fled the party to the NDP this time around. Brian Tobin is obviously interested, judging from his full-spin mode performance the other night on the CBC election coverage. However any credibility he has in Newfoundland and in his own mind might be all he has to rely on - Captain Canada predates Martin-Chretien and his ship has long ago sailed.
Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, both having walked across the floor from the Conservatives would be interesting options and could open up some intriguing dynamics. Brison looked very Prime Ministerial in accepting his election nod the other night, though he could have done without chewing gum guy behind him during the speech he made on CBC. I don't think he has the machinery in place to make a successful bid yet, but he's young and he'll be around for a long time.
Stronach as leader would enrage the Conservatives so much in opposition that I think she might be able to cause some of the faux pas that Harper has managed to avoid throughout the last election campaign. It could prove entertaining if nothing else and be a definite boon to the opposition. I suspect that the rank-and-file Liberal (and a good portion of the electorate) probably view her with some suspicion after her grab for the leadership of the Conservatives two years ago and her subsequent walk across the floor into the front bench of the Liberal party. She could well prove to be fodder for the Conservatives in the long run, so I would count her out this time around.
Ignatieff is of course widely considered to be the annointed one. I seriously doubt he gave up his tenured position at Harvard to sit for a long time as the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, so I'd be surprised if he didn't throw his hat in the ring.
It might be a bit soon for him though; I have to wonder if he has enough of the party behind him. However, his hand may be forced by Martin's quick departure, the party is likely to try to avoid another Martin-Chretien war and will firmly rally around whoever is selected. If that person can deliver an election victory, and I believe the next time around it will be theirs to lose, they might have the job for a good long time. He's nearly 60 now and I don't know if he wants to wait another five or eight years.
Unfortunately for him, his political inexperience will likely outweigh his formidable lobal powers and the Liberals will probably want to go with someone with some political experience over a lenghty written record. Do you think Ignatieff would be happy maybe as ambassador to Ukraine?
