The Liberal Party leadership is finally over, and Stephane Dion has won, taking the prize on the fourth ballot, beating out Michael Ignatieff.
The Liberal Party delegates had four choices:
Of these four, two had only been in the party for a brief time (Ignatieff and Rae). One had only recently returned to Canada after three decades in the United States (Ignatieff). One came from the provincial level of politics, having never worked at the federal level (Kennedy). Two weren't even sitting members of parliament (Rae and Kennedy).
The only name that doesn't come up in that list is Dion. Stephane Dion was recruited by Jean Chretien, and served him and his successor Paul Martin. He has been in parliament since 1996, winning re-election in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006.
Besides Joe Volpe, Stephane Dion best represented the old Liberal Party among all the leadership candidates.
When given the choice between the new and the old, in fact, three very different versions of "new", the Liberal delegates ultimately went with old.
Can you imagine a more conservative choice?
