Joy to the world, Bob Rae wants to be the leader of the Liberal Party, but only if the job lasts for 18 to 24 months, no more, no less. At least that's what Bobby is saying; "I'm not running for the long-term leadership. Frankly, I don't think the party wants anybody to be running for the long-term leadership right now." But if he does become the interim leader, he insists on keeping the job for at least a year and a half, otherwise "then obviously somebody else can do that". The Party is currently debating whether the new leader should be appointed as soon as possible or two years from now.
So has Bob Rae abandoned his ambition? Forgive me for being skeptical, but I still believe Bob wants the leadership job permanently. The Liberals who support Bob Rae to be the next full-time leader should be the ones who want to hold a leadership vote sooner rather than later. They already have their man. The "anybody but Bobby" crowd should be the ones trying to postpone a convention to give "the next one" time to establish themselves and build a campaign. Bob is ready to go now, Justin Trudeau needs more time. The wild card I can't figure out is Dominic LeBlanc, whether he will be running for leader and when his supporters would prefer to hold a convention.
It would be interesting to poll card carrying Liberals and ask them who they would most like to see become permanent leader and when they think the convention should be. While caucus members might not come out and declare support publicly for a specific leadership hopeful, most should already have a preference. The "hopefuls" are now engaged in a chess game against each other and it is difficult to analyze the moves without knowing what conversations are taking place behind closed doors. I for one fully expect Rae to become interim leader and still run for permanent leader. Any internal rules that prevent his candidacy can be easily changed when the time comes.
The Party hit rock bottom with 19% of the vote May 2nd. Those numbers should rebound as the NDP team of novices make fools of themselves in opposition. If the Liberals can get to 26% in 16 months, then Rae's supporters will point out the party is heading in the right direction and the guy who has had the job should keep it into the next election.
Where there's a will, there's a Rae...
I suspect since the thumping from May 2 Bobby has had to reconsider his options.He may well have assumed that the Libs would lose the election but still hold the Cons to a minority and that the Libs would form the official opposition.
ReplyDeleteAssuming the a coalition was out Rae may have wanted the leadership to fight another election in a year or two. Instead it is a 4 1/2 year wait and perhaps Rae won't wait that long and is recognizing that age is an issue for him.
I do not think he could (sort of) promise not to run for the leadership while assuming the interim position then pull the old switcheroo. It wouldn't fly even with these old corrupt windbags. The party would tear itself apart; This time for good.
I don't think anyone in their right mind would trust this turncoat. He will try to manipulate a full time leader job in his favour.
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