mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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 Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:00 pm Post subject: Is the Canadian Liberal party dead? |
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For now, that is. I've noticed news of Liberal MPs deciding to call it quits after the next election and wondered what the total is so far, and it turns out it's seventeen. Stephane Dion also has said that it's his goal to have 33% of the candidates be women, to the point that he's willing to bar some men from being nominated if there aren't enough (right now I think they have about 25% or so women MPs).
Story
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Veteran Lucienne Robillard latest Liberal MP to quit politics
OTTAWA (CP) - Former cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard is the latest in a long string of veteran Liberals to bow out of federal politics.
The Liberals' deputy House leader announced Wednesday that she will not run in the next election after representing one of the safest Grit ridings in the country - Montreal's Westmount - for 12 years. Robillard is the 15th Liberal MP to decide not to seek re-election. She joins party stalwarts such as former prime minister Paul Martin, former interim leader Bill Graham and former ministers Andy Scott, Jean Lapierre, Joe Comuzzi and Jim Peterson.
In addition to those retiring MPs, two others who were elected as Liberals last year - David Emerson and Wajid Khan - have defected to the Tories.
In total, the Liberal have lost the advantage of incumbency in 17 ridings - almost a fifth of their seats.
Liberals insist the exodus is unremarkable - primarily MPs who've served for years and who are nearing, if not already past, normal retirement age. And they contend it gives the party a golden opportunity to rejuvenate itself.
Indeed, Robillard offered that argument with respect to her own decision.
"At this moment, the people who are deciding not to run again are people with a long political career, like me," the 61-year-old said in an interview.
"It's now a perfect opportunity for (Leader) Stephane Dion to bring new faces into the party."
But privately, some Liberals admit the departures are a sign that MPs don't expect the Liberal party to be returned to power in the next election, which many Grits expect to come this spring. Polls suggest the Tories are closing in on support levels needed to win a majority while the Liberals are mired around 30 per cent, after a brief bounce in popularity following Dion's election as leader in December.
"That's a bad sign," a senior Quebec Liberal said of the numerous departures. "If people were feeling there was some momentum, they wouldn't be leaving."
Indeed, Liberal MPs seem to be abandoning ship in greater numbers than their counterparts in other parties. So far, only four Tory MPs have said they won't seek re-election, one New Democrat and two members of the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
As for the departures clearing the way for new blood, former leadership contenders Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay will run for the Liberals in Toronto. And Justin Trudeau, eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, is hoping to carry the Liberal banner in Montreal's Papineau riding. But, beyond that, there has not so far been a great rush of high-profile newcomers vying to fill the Liberal vacancies.
Among those rumoured to be interested in filling Robillard's place are her riding president Brigitte Garceau and former Westmount mayor Peter Trent.
Two other relatively safe Montreal seats - Lasalle-Emard and Outremont - have yet to spark much interest, at least in public, from prospective Liberal candidates.
But Montreal MP Denis Coderre said star candidates are waiting in the wings; they simply can't put their names forward and give up their current jobs until they know when the election will be held.
"There will be good people ... There's a list," Coderre said.
Among possible Liberal candidates who may yet step forward in Quebec are former minister Liza Frulla and one-time astronaut Marc Garneau, both of whom were defeated in the last election. Coderre named businessman Marc Bruneau and University of Montreal professor Jocelyn Coulon as other possible high-profile recruits.
Toronto MP Derek Lee said age and years of service are the primary factors motivating fellow Liberals to quit politics. But he acknowledged that some might stick around if the Grits were still in power or certain to win it back.
"If Jimmy Peterson was still in the cabinet, I think he might give it another shot. If Joe McGuire was still in the cabinet, he might give it another shot. That's a factor," Lee conceded.
He said some MPs' decisions about retiring would be influenced by "the fact that we're not in government and that, in order to be in government, we'd have to turn a big page."
While incumbency can give a candidate an edge during an election, Lee said "the hidden blessing" in the exodus of veteran MPs is that it gives the party a chance to refresh itself with young new candidates and, in particular, makes it easier for the party to meet Dion's target of having one-third women candidates.
Robillard was first elected to the Commons in 1995 and was the cabinet minister responsible for the federal government's campaign in the sovereignty referendum that federalists narrowly won.
Robillard held several other portfolios in Jean Chretien's government, including minister responsible for the treasury board and citizenship and immigration.
She spent nearly 20 years as a social worker before turning to provincial politics.
Robillard was elected to the Quebec legislature in 1989. |
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