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Politically Incorrect

50 Ways to leave your party

by Arthur Weinreb

September 2, 2002

It seems that this is the year for federal party leaders to leave. First Stockwell Day left and was replaced alternatively by "now-he’s-here-now-he-isn’t" Stephen Harper. Later, Alexa McDonough, Joe Clark and the one we’ve all been waiting for, Jean Chrétien announced that they were going bye-bye. The leader of the Bloq hasn’t made his announcement yet, perhaps proving that the separatists are indeed a distinct society.

It used to be that party leaders would announce that they were leaving, a date for a leadership convention would be chosen and that would be it. Only McDonough, who prides herself on being progressive, did it the old fashioned conservative way. Joe Clark stated that he was resigning but staying in case there was a snap election, immediately transforming himself from Joe Who to Joe When. Then Chrétien, the guy who promised to scrap the GST, promised he would not run again and would leave in February 2004, leaving many aging baby boomers to wonder, not who will be the next Liberal leader, but whether they will be alive to find out.

Years ago, former Tory Cabinet Minister John Crosbie, speaking of then NDP leader Ed Broadbent, described Broadbent as being the most popular party leader in between elections and went on to say that Broadbent could be prime minister if he could only figure out how to win an election between elections. In the same vein, Alexa McDonough showed how competent she was when she announced her resignation. If she could have quit and stayed at the same time, she could have taken the socialists to new heights.

Poor Joe. When Chrétien announced he would not run in the next election he took the sails out of Clark’s argument that he had to stay. At the same time, the PM put the screws to Paul Martin by delaying his hoped for coronation. Chrétien made a point of saying that he will be 70 when he leaves office, a point that he is sure to bring up again as 70 sounds so old and everyone knows Paul is not that much younger. This does not bode well for the Martinis.

Paul Martin has another 18 months to try and gain support, but other than immigrants not yet arrived, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to join the Martin forces who has not already done so. Paul Martin has been running for the leadership for so long that no one can remember why he decided to run in the first place, other than the fact that daddy should have gotten the job and didn’t. If Paul Martin has other reasons for wanting to lead the country, he’s kept them well hidden.

Whatever else can be said of Jean Chrétien he is perhaps the best political strategist we have ever seen. His constant political outmaneuvering of Paul Martin and even Joe Clark is nothing short of brilliant. This is his true legacy.

Much like the GST, we’ll believe Chrétien is quitting only after he’s gone. And he can think up all kinds of reasons why he’ll have to hold on, especially if things look promising for Martin. Jean might "unquit" if a major crisis were to develop like another major terrorist attack south of the border. Just because he sat out the last one is no reason to abandon ship. Even Joe When could end up running again to show that his national "par tee" can field a leadership candidate that’s not from New Brunswick.

The only certainty other than death and taxes is that the NDP will have a new leader next year.

Arthur Weinreb is a lawyer and author and Associate Editor of Canadafreepress.com, he can be reached at:aweinreb@interlog.com



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