Angry in the Great White North
Chretienites on the rise again?
Friday, April 07, 2006 at 09:01 AM

Read other posts by Steve Janke published by the National Post
Leader

Belinda Stronach drops out of the race for the Liberal Party leadership:

Liberal MP Belinda Stronach has announced she will not enter the race for the federal Liberal leadership, saying she isn't happy with the way the party picks its leader.

Meanwhile, Stephane Dion is in:

Montreal MP Stephane Dion has announced his bid to lead the Liberal Party of Canada, saying his top priorities will be to promote a healthy environment and national unity.

There are probably many reasons for Belinda to bow out. She claims the primary reason is the limited scope of the voting. Many observers have said that her difficulty with French is an insurmountable problem. Of course, her brief history with the party, the circumstances of her defection, and her lack of a political portfolio of note with either the Liberals or the Conservatives can't help.

But remember this too -- Belinda is entirely a Martinite. If the Paul Martin camp is on the outs, and it seems likely it is, that association might be the final nail in the coffin for a candidate with that much baggage.

On the other hand, Stephane Dion is throwing his hat in. Pulled into government by Jean Chretien to be his point man in the fight against Quebec separatism, Dion was tossed out of cabinet when Paul Martin took over, a fate suffered by just about every other Chretien appointee. Dion returned when, during the sponsorship scandal, Martin and his people recognized Dion's strengths in Quebec, strengths lacking in the Martin cabinet. But that hardly makes him a Martin man.

I wonder if Dion thinks he has a chance because the internal party dynamics favour him right now, despite his baggage, such as his association with Clarity Act, much reviled in many circles in Quebec. That would make sense if the Chretienites were ascendant. A candidate with the label "Martin Liberal" might find the deck already stacked against him.

Maybe that's what Belinda realized.

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