NationStates Jolt Archive

There's been a few comments regarding the lack of leadership from the conservative camp in Canada. However, all of the Liberal party potentials are turning down the chance to lead a very large minority party, essentially the government in waiting. Martin, McKenna, Tobin, Emerson (heh heh), Manley...
am I forgetting anyone? Will it be race between... gasp.. Belinda Stronach or Bob Rae...?

I'd had Pierre Pettigrew earmarked as a strong possible contender - what with the Grits' tendency to go french/english/french with their leaders - that, and Pettigrew was one of the very, very few federal Libs to survive in caucus through the Martin pogrom. However, having lost his seat in Papineau this last election might make that an impossibility.

I have no idea at all why so many leading Liberal luminaries are avoiding the Hell out of what stands to be a golden opportunity.

Seeing as all the star candidates have dropped out of contention, I'll go with Gerard Kennedy of the Ontario Provincial Liberal Party.

I'd had Pierre Pettigrew earmarked as a strong possible contender - what with the Grits' tendency to go french/english/french with their leaders - that, and Pettigrew was one of the very, very few federal Libs to survive in caucus through the Martin pogrom. However, having lost his seat in Papineau this last election might make that an impossibility.

I have no idea at all why so many leading Liberal luminaries are avoiding the Hell out of what stands to be a golden opportunity.

Seeing as all the star candidates have dropped out of contention, I'll go with Gerard Kennedy of the Ontario Provincial Liberal Party.

What's your take on Ignatieff? He's supposed to be the next Trudeau according to some...

What's your take on Ignatieff? He's supposed to be the next Trudeau according to some...
Ignatieff is to much of an effete academic to be a credible Party leader. Together with the fact he's lived most of his life in the States, this just doesn't compute.

Ignatieff has an ego the size of Ontario. The public won't vote for someone who comes off as arrogant and self-righteous.

Picture: You're the party that eliminated the deficit, has been paying down the debt, and brought forward multi-million dollar plans to benefit the people.. and you still get voted out. Across the aisle is a party that has vowed to investigate to find a supposed missing 40 or 50 million dollars, and your party is already in the hole financially. It has been in power for 20 odd years, and there's literally a generation of party apparatus behind you that only knows what "business as usual" is, and if they can't proceed that way, they'll get grumbly.

Add to that the expectation that whoever becomes leader will not only somehow manage to renew the party (something which can only happen through the party itself) but will also then proceed to win an election.. in only two years or so. Expectations for whoever gets the position will be impossible to fill, and the punishment will be an inability to lead the party thereafter.

That's not something I'd be jumping at the bit to get.

Waterkeep, you're forgetting that Martin had his caucus pogrom after knifing Chretien in the back. There's ample fresh blood to draw on.

Still, it's not like taking leadership of the Progressive Conservatives after Kim Campbell. The Liberals have a large and very active party thats not going away. Leadership of the party is almost a gauranteed shoe-in for the next Prime Minister. I think the Conservatives would have to run a pretty clean government for the next couple of years to be seen as prefferable to a 'renewed' Liberal party in the next election. (Judging by his initial performance, if I were the Liberal Leader, I would be trying to figure out where to put my furniture in 24 Sussex.)

Ignatieff has an ego the size of Ontario. The public won't vote for someone who comes off as arrogant and self-righteous.

I'd vote for him, I agree with his position on some issues. The entire party has an ego, so I don't see why him having one will be any trouble. Hell, Trudeau certainly had one.