Over the past few days we've seen a bunch of people expressing interest in the Federal Liberal Leadership. Some of the candidates are truely surprising both from a personal perspective as well as their position on the political spectrum.
Bob Rae was the first really big surprise. I have a soft spot for Bob Rae as he's a friend of my step father's and one of the first really prolific left politicians. Many blame him for deficits that the conservatives inherited, but his social policy was solid. I think with a strong cabinet, Rae would be a great choice for a leader. (Although he might be a hard sell to Liberals in general, as he is a little too far to the left for people to be comfortable.)
Gerrard Kennedy is another unlikely candidate. Education has been a priority for the McGuinty government, so Kennedy has been in the news a fair amount in the past year. From a policy perspective he would be another liberal favorite. He has a great track record working with disparate groups and building consensus in difficult places. But from a political point of view, he is kind of awkward. He's not great while in the hot seat, and it might take a few years to get him up to the standard of public speaking that is required of a leader.
Stephane Dion has more federal experience than the others, but is a little awkward as well. I caught a bit of his press conference this morning, and while the speech was good, he totally read it. Again, media training might fix this but I think that a leader of the Liberal Party should already be a little more cultivated.
There are others of course that have expressed interest in the parties leadersip, but they are city councillors and such. Without a huge political network to get financing, making those bids come to anything will be a monumental task.
So to conclude, the contenders so far seem to be a little further left than in the past, they seem to be a little less polished, and they seem to lack the federal political network that is needed to make it happen.
The next few months will be interesting for sure.
I’ve heard that John Godfrey’s stepped down from the race. How do you think that will affect things?
Also, the latest episode of the Rick Mercer report did a parody of that hotel ad where the guy’s saying goodnight to all of his co-workers, but this one was done with all the politicians interested in the leadership race. If you haven’t seen it, I think you’ll like it if you do.