The Liberals do not need to repeat the NDP leadership race of 2003 when no serious candidates were willing to run and Carole James won as the least problematic unknown political novice.
I am sure Moira Stilwell is a nice person, but where is her background to be leader? 18 months as an MLA is not enough political experience to run a government.
Now we hear that Ian Tostenson of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association is interesting in running. While it would be interesting to see someone from a group that has been very much against the HST run and someone that is a strong advocate on climate change, I still have to ask "Who?"
The Liberals need a heavy weight to declare and declare soon or the party will be in trouble
2 comments:
Tostenson stated this morning on CKNW this morning that he personally is in favour of the HST, even though it's killing those businesses he is paid to represent! A true trooper that Tostenson is: hope he doesn't go knocking on any restraunteurs doors for donations.
I tend to agree. My sense is that Tostenson, Stillwell, and George Abbott while all nice people seem very wishy washy to me. While I suspect moving up the date of the HST referendum would be popular there some significant legal barriers to doing it and a savvy politician wouldn't just be promising off hand to do things they can't deliver on.
I do have to think someone like Kevin Falcon will step in. At the end of the day the race is decided by BC Liberal Party members not the public at large so it is not necessarily a popularity contest of who is nicest. I also think it is important to get someone who can repair some of the ties to the Federal Conservatives and I don't see someone like George Abbott doing that vs someone like Falcon or Coleman.
For what its worth despite the unpopularity of the HST whenever they do open lines on the HST during Bill Good's show on CKNW recently it is now becoming almost ten to one IN FAVOR. I wonder if this is further evidence of a rural urban split in BC politics.
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