They are trying to turn the Ontario liberal leadership into a boys-only club. Maybe I was a bit of a wus as a youngster but I always let the girls into our various club houses. And I hardly think that this last-minute deal between Nate Erskine Smith and Yasir Naqvi is going to be anything other than of a passing interest. The only worry is that Bonnie Crombie might note their intransigence when the liberals defeat Doug Ford and she might be reluctant to bring the guys into her cabinet.
All I know is if you get involved in as stupidly arranged a leadership contest as the liberals are running, anything can happen. Copying the conservatives’ style of leadership was a very bad idea. First of all, not all electoral districts are created equal. To give added strength to the few votes from low membership ridings is basically denying liberals who work to have a strong membership their rights to fairly chosen leader.
What Nate and Yasir are trying is the same style of stalking horse deal as Jean Charest and Patrick Brown were attempting in the last conservative leadership. I am not privy to knowing which one of Patrick Brown’s dirty tricks got him kicked out of the conservative race but it certainly cemented Pierre Poilievre’s lock on the leadership. There is a possibility that they kicked Patrick Brown out of that race because they were worried, he might accidently win.
But Bonnie Crombie can be confident of her position as top dog in chasing this liberal rabbit around Ontario. If I provided a morning line for this Liberal race, all I would be doing is restating the obvious. My reading across Ontario says that Bonnie Crombie is ready to do the job of liberal leader.
What concerns me are the next steps. To build the liberal party for the next provincial election requires her presence in the legislature. It was tragic for the liberals last election when the liberal party leader had never had a chance to show his stuff mano a mano against Doug Ford.
And I am a left-wing liberal who has always been delighted to take donations to the party from developers. Our democracy is important to everybody. And I don’t think anybody who thinks they can buy you will respect you.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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