There are certain jobs, it seems, that no one, but no one, wants to have: septic tank cleaner, bug repellent tester, liberal philosopher, and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The man most people tagged for the position, former U.S. ambassador Frank McKenna, has politely declined to go for it:

During 15 years as a leading politician in New Brunswick, including 10 as premier, “I became addicted to my responsibilities,” he said.

His life became unbalanced, and after leaving the premier’s job in 1997, he vowed “having escaped the trap, I wouldn’t go back for the cheese.”

So McKenna’s out, and John Manley’s out, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people stepping forward at the moment to fill Paul Martin’s shoes.

Understandable, because who would want to?

We’re talking about becoming the primary voice and face of a party that’s carrying a seven-figure debt load, tainted with the stench of old-boy corruption that has barely begun to fade, and whose every move cannot be observed by anyone without a hint of cynical opportunism. As it stands right now, the Liberal Party of Canada cannot help even a modern-day Pierre Trudeau become Prime Minister. There are just too many problems to deal with.

What the Liberal Party of Canada can do for the present is elect an interim leader. It has to be someone currently in the House because that leader will also be Leader of the Opposition. Ideally, the person should also have ministerial and parliamentary experience of more than one term (sorry, Belinda), and should have the respect of his or her peers. Let’s have a look:

Carolyn Bennett. former Minister of State for Public Health, and veteran MP. An obvious candidate to be the Health Critic, but if there’s enough pressure to bring in a female leader, she’s an obvious contender.

Irwin Cotler, former Justice Minister, MP since 1999. His newly introduced process for selecting a Supreme Court Justice shows he’s not afraid of being innovative, but considering his defences of David Dingwall he may be too identified with the old Martin front bench.

Stéphane Dion, MP since 1996 and longtime intergovernmental affairs minister. Decent track record, obviously a legit contender.

Hedi Fry, one of the Chrétien generation, and parliamentary secretary for four different ministries. Tends to be in junior positions a lot, but as with Bennett she should be considered if there’s enough pressure for a female in the role.

Ralph Goodale. Maybe down the road, but not until the income-trust allegations are addressed and answered.

Bill Graham. Definitely a strong candidate, more because of his experience with parliamentary committees than for his ministerial stints.

Jim Karygiannis. Another junior minister. Plenty of experience, but may not have the ambition necessary for the job.

Diane Marleau. Lots of ministerial and committee experience, but mostly at the junior level.

Joe Volpe. Some ministerial experience, most of it recent.

The thing about Interim Leader is, it doesn’t carry the burden of trying to sell the Liberal Party of Canada to the voters. It can, however, showcase the talents of a fresh face, one not beholden to the Martin / Chrétien squabbles of recent years, and fresh faces are what the Liberal Party needs right now.

I’d be curious to see who throws their hat in the ring now …

This entry was posted on Monday, January 30th, 2006 at 14:52 and is filed under Federal Government, Parliament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.