New LPC Leader

[evman150]

So who is it going to be? Frank McKenna? Michael Ignatieff? Someone else?

Any dark horse picks? How about Dr. Keith Martin who ran for the Conservative leadership? Or is running for the leadership of two parties a no-no? Belinda?

Discuss.

[Thunderball]

My guesses are McKenna, Ignatieff, Tobin, Dion, Manley are the people you'll see try to throw their names in the hat.

[MarchHare]

If you do a search, you'll probably find posts from me predicting McKenna dating back to at least the last election.

Anyone want to make a $1 paypal bet (or a donation to CP) that the next PM to have a majority will be McKenna?

[Incinerator]

Belinda

[browna]

What about the man who threw Martin to the wolves?

[evman150]

Originally Posted by browna

What about the man who threw Martin to the wolves?

That's Dr. Keith Martin.

"Some idiot went and sent it out..."

"Look, I approved those ads".

And he didn't show up when Paul Martin visited Victoria.

To me, Dr. Keith would be the perfect prime minister. Smart, young(er), fiscally conservative, socially liberal and charismatic to boot.

The people of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca have elected him as a Reform candidate, an Alliance candidate and as a Liberal candidate. It's one of the rare ridings where people vote for the person instead of the party.

Congratulations Dr. Keith Martin for winning for the fifth election in a row, all by the age of 45.

He's a really nice guy too, btw.

(I know it seems as though I got a hard on for the guy, but he really is the guy who I most identify with in federal politics).

[Vulcan]

Some one on CBC suggeted Dryden, god I hope not.

[Claeren]

I think someone like Ralph Goodale makes more sense in the short term.

Someone who can lead the party for 18 months until the next election, has household name recognition, but will happily step aside for whoever wins the next liberal leadership race.


Claeren.

[TimSJ]

As much i am am not a fan of the Liberals Being a New Brunswicker i would love to see McKenna win.. I would do great things for this province.

[AaronSJ]

Count me as another New Brunswicker who supports McKenna. I don't think there is anyone out there who is comparable in terms of leadership, respect, international experience, or profile.

There's been talk about McKenna running federally since his retirement from provinicial politics in 1997. Given that he may be politically "encouraged" to change jobs soon (don't know what Harper's plans are for him), I think he's a perfect fit for the job.

[Incogneto]

IN a historical Sense, the new Leader would have to be a Francaphone, but judging by the way Martin-Cretien alienated the Liberals in Quebec, it might be tough....

[ken0042]

If we are going historically; shouldn't it be the Finance Minister? Wasn't Cretien Trudeau's finance Minister? And then Martin was Cretien's Finance Minister?

(just going by memory here.)

[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by AaronSJ

Count me as another New Brunswicker who supports McKenna. I don't think there is anyone out there who is comparable in terms of leadership, respect, international experience, or profile.

ditto. he might still be in office back home, if he didn't leave on his own accord.

[MarchHare]

ditto. he might still be in office back home, if he didn't leave on his own accord.

Yup...he said he was going to lead NB for no more than 10 years, and he did just that, stepping down 10 years to the day after being elected premier. Sad to see New Brunswick voters replace such a great leader with a screw-up like Bernard Lord.

Anyway, for Westerners who may not know much about McKenna, there's probably a lot about his politics that you would like. I'm sure that won't prevent Alberta from voting solidly Conservative yet again, though.

I'd expect to see him garner much more media attention over the coming months as he positions himself to be the new Liberal leader (from what I've heard, he made the decision quite a while ago and is just waiting for the right time to declare his intentions).

[Buff]

I don't know who will be the new Liberal leader, but I bet Belinda will run. She danced around the question when Sandi Renaldo asked her about it last night. It could be that she didn't want to comment on leadership when Martin had not yet made it official. You'd sound like a big fool if you said that you'll run for leadership of the party and then the leader doesn't step down.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

If you do a search, you'll probably find posts from me predicting McKenna dating back to at least the last election.

Anyone want to make a $1 paypal bet (or a donation to CP) that the next PM to have a majority will be McKenna?

Geez, didn't MadDoggie already accept this bet on Ars? Hmmm?

[MarchHare]

I don't know who will be the new Liberal leader, but I bet Belinda will run.

She'd stand absolutely no chance of winning. It's one thing to put her into a relatively unimportant cabinet position. It's something altogether different to elect someone with her political experience (or lack thereof) as leader of the party. The CPC recognized this when they chose Harper as their leader. The Liberals will see it too.

I'd be very, very, very surprised if Frank McKenna isn't selected as the new Liberal leader. Other potential candidates might be John Manley, Brian Tobin, or even Michael Ignatieff, but McKenna is far and away the frontrunner.

[MarchHare]

Geez, didn't MadDoggie already accept this bet on Ars? Hmmm?

Yeah, I've been making this same bet on all the forums I post to.

So far Mad Doggie is the only one to accept.

[calculoso]

McKenna strikes me as someone who could be a good leader.

Tobin? I sure hope not. I can't stand the guy.

[CaptainCrunch]

Anyone who is in anyway linked to the Liberal government is screwed as a leader due to the stench of scandal. Goodale's hopes for a higher party function died the moment the words Income Trust were uttered.

McKenna would be a great choice, but knowing the Liberal's they might push Belinda into the leadership position.