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McKenna joins Manley in bowing out of Liberal leadership race
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OTTAWA (CP) - Frank McKenna has become the second high-profile Liberal to bow out of the race to replace Paul Martin. McKenna's decision Monday followed last week's announcement by former deputy prime minister John Manley that he won't be a leadership candidate.
And Brian Tobin may soon follow suit.
A source close to the former Newfoundland premier said Tobin is not "chewing at the bit" to return to politics either.
"(He is) consulting family and friends and asking himself many of the same questions as McKenna."
The reluctance of the three, all considered among the frontrunners to succeed Martin, suggests the leadership of the Liberal party is not the prize it once was.
The job opened up last week when Martin announced he was stepping aside after leading the once-mighty ruling party to defeat in the Jan. 23 election.
McKenna offered his resignation last week as Canada's ambassador to Washington, prompting speculation that he was clearing the decks for a leadership run.
But he told reporters Monday he does not have a "burning ambition" to be prime minister.
McKenna confessed he was "addicted" to politics when he was premier of New Brunswick, devoting all his time and energy to the job. He said he simply didn't have the stomach to commit to another eight to 10 all-consuming years at the helm of the federal Liberals.
"I wasn't able to find the appropriate balance then and I'm certain I would not be able to find the appropriate balance now," he said.
"I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that, having escaped the trap, I wouldn't go back for the cheese."
McKenna said his decision was not influenced by the prospect of having to rebuild a defeated party. He maintained that Martin is leaving the party in good shape, with a solid base of 103 seats.
"You've got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if you're leader of the Liberal party."
Still, the new leader could also end up warming the opposition benches for years to come. And that prospect isn't much of an inducement for people accustomed to power in the past to give up their relatively comfortable lives outside of politics. That's especially true of Manley and McKenna, both in their late 50s.
"I think what you're really seeing is the beginning of a generational change," said the source close to Tobin.
Moreover, even should the party be restored quickly to power, that's no guarantee the leader will be treated with respect. Internal Liberal politics can be brutal and ruthless, as Jean Chretien discovered when he was rushed out the door to make way for Martin, despite winning three consecutive majorities.
McKenna's decision to sit out the leadership contest, leaves the race without any acknowledged frontrunner. Indeed, for the first time in 40 years, there is no heir apparent waiting in the wings to succeed a retiring Liberal leader.
The race will, thus, be wide open and unpredictable. Among the possible contenders are former ministers Stephane Dion, Martin Cauchon, Denis Coderre, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Ken Dryden, Jane Stewart and Joe Volpe, former Tories-turned-ministers Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, former Ontario premier Bob Rae and acclaimed Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff, elected for the first time last week.
In the absence of a predominant frontrunner who can win on the first ballot, the Liberals' leadership process tends to favour the selection of a compromise, come-from-behind candidate.
The federal party uses the same process as the Ontario Liberal party. It resulted in Dalton McGuinty being chosen on the fifth ballot to lead the provincial party in 1996 even though he'd been the fourth-place choice on the first ballot.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
McKenna joins Manley in bowing out of Liberal leadership race
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTTAWA (CP) - Frank McKenna has become the second high-profile Liberal to bow out of the race to replace Paul Martin. McKenna's decision Monday followed last week's announcement by former deputy prime minister John Manley that he won't be a leadership candidate.
And Brian Tobin may soon follow suit.
A source close to the former Newfoundland premier said Tobin is not "chewing at the bit" to return to politics either.
"(He is) consulting family and friends and asking himself many of the same questions as McKenna."
The reluctance of the three, all considered among the frontrunners to succeed Martin, suggests the leadership of the Liberal party is not the prize it once was.
The job opened up last week when Martin announced he was stepping aside after leading the once-mighty ruling party to defeat in the Jan. 23 election.
McKenna offered his resignation last week as Canada's ambassador to Washington, prompting speculation that he was clearing the decks for a leadership run.
But he told reporters Monday he does not have a "burning ambition" to be prime minister.
McKenna confessed he was "addicted" to politics when he was premier of New Brunswick, devoting all his time and energy to the job. He said he simply didn't have the stomach to commit to another eight to 10 all-consuming years at the helm of the federal Liberals.
"I wasn't able to find the appropriate balance then and I'm certain I would not be able to find the appropriate balance now," he said.
"I reminded myself of my vow upon leaving office that, having escaped the trap, I wouldn't go back for the cheese."
McKenna said his decision was not influenced by the prospect of having to rebuild a defeated party. He maintained that Martin is leaving the party in good shape, with a solid base of 103 seats.
"You've got pretty good odds of being the prime minister if you're leader of the Liberal party."
Still, the new leader could also end up warming the opposition benches for years to come. And that prospect isn't much of an inducement for people accustomed to power in the past to give up their relatively comfortable lives outside of politics. That's especially true of Manley and McKenna, both in their late 50s.
"I think what you're really seeing is the beginning of a generational change," said the source close to Tobin.
Moreover, even should the party be restored quickly to power, that's no guarantee the leader will be treated with respect. Internal Liberal politics can be brutal and ruthless, as Jean Chretien discovered when he was rushed out the door to make way for Martin, despite winning three consecutive majorities.
McKenna's decision to sit out the leadership contest, leaves the race without any acknowledged frontrunner. Indeed, for the first time in 40 years, there is no heir apparent waiting in the wings to succeed a retiring Liberal leader.
The race will, thus, be wide open and unpredictable. Among the possible contenders are former ministers Stephane Dion, Martin Cauchon, Denis Coderre, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Ken Dryden, Jane Stewart and Joe Volpe, former Tories-turned-ministers Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, former Ontario premier Bob Rae and acclaimed Harvard academic Michael Ignatieff, elected for the first time last week.
In the absence of a predominant frontrunner who can win on the first ballot, the Liberals' leadership process tends to favour the selection of a compromise, come-from-behind candidate.
The federal party uses the same process as the Ontario Liberal party. It resulted in Dalton McGuinty being chosen on the fifth ballot to lead the provincial party in 1996 even though he'd been the fourth-place choice on the first ballot.
©The Canadian Press, 2006
