Leadership Races

In Canada, we have two major political leadership races going on - and the stakes in both cases are very high for the candidates.

In Alberta, it is the struggle to replace Ralph Klein, who has said he will submit his resignation in 18 months, and step aside six months later. In a sad attempt to not become a "lame duck" in the intervening months, Ralph has tried to guarantee that his cabinet is filled with sycophants who have no immediate designs on the leadership. Sadly for the PC's, this is more likely to result in the party being broken into squabbling factions as the various leadership campaigns kick into high gear. Eighteen months is a long time in politics, and I think that Ralph has badly underestimated how much can happen in that time. Nor do I think that the party has really thought out the succession of what has become a charismatic dictatorship.

On the Federal scene, we have the leadership race for the Liberal party. Superficially, with the Liberals wandering in the political opposition forests, one might believe that the "Race for Stornoway" is a mere yawn - oh dear, yet another Leader of the Opposition character. Certainly, there are only a handful of candidates that have formally put their names forward, and they are mostly no-names outside the Liberal party circles.

There is much speculation around possible candidates, ranging from Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach to Michael Ignatieff. While both Stronach and Brison are in some respects "damaged goods", having crossed the floor from the Conservative benches in the last parliament or two, they are both very powerful personalities, with impressive capabilities to play a room full of people quite handily.

What I'm hoping for is someone to emerge that can raise the level of debate in the Parliament above the rather pathetic depths to which it has degenerated in recent years. Where we have no debate in Alberta, only sycophantic compliance with Ralph's whims, on the Federal scene, we have been inundated with politicians whose idea of persuasion is to scream louder than their opponents.

On that front, although I am concerned about his lack of practical political experience, I must admit that Michael Ignatieff looks to be the best hope for bringing a vision to the Liberal party that reaches beyond the immediate concerns of whatever the "squabble du jour" happens to be.

We'll have to see how Ignatieff plays his hand in the coming Parliament, as well as on the campaign trail, but right now, he stands to be the first politician in a good long time that may be able to don the cloak of statesman, and revitalize the discussion not merely of day to day policy, but what should Canada be in ten, twenty or thirty years. Something which we desperately need to be considering, for the sake of our children if nothing else.