Monday, November 03, 2003

WHERE'S THE LEADERSHIP?

Everyone has been commenting on the decision of Mike Harris not to run for the leadership of the new Conservative Party. The Star editorial board came out last week and said Harris was the wrong guy, no surprise. Pogge concurs saying he is not the man for the job. Meanwhile John Ibbistson today said that Harris was the best available choice, and Maderblog has similar thoughts. All day today Bourque was asking the question that lies at the centre of all this commentary: If not Harris then who? No credible suggestions were put forward; the most creative one was Ken Dryden.

So where is the conservative leadership in this country? Even liberals like me will admit we need some of it to at least make federal elections interesting (even a few more sensible Liberals may quietly admit this). Its seems pretty clear though where all the leaders are. Right now they are all in provincial politics in B.C, Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. And there is a whole slew of them in Ontario warming the opposition benches or looking for jobs.

With the fragmentation of the conservatives at the federal level the real conservative leadership has abandoned the federal scene to the Liberals. They all say they want a credible conservative alternative, and they are all willing to put their support behind such a movement, but none of the big names are willing to risk or perhaps sacrfice their current careers in an attempt to make it work. The result is that the new party will continue to be rooted in the politics of regional protest (west or east) rather than aspirations of national government. And that is not good for the country.

Update [3/11/03; 8:41 p.m.]: In my roundup of comment on Mike Harris and the current state of Canadian conservatism I somehow neglected to read Paul Wells. Not surprisingly he has something to say, and as usual its the best thing out there.

Posted by Matthew @ 7:35 p.m.