I happen to really like political leadership races. It is interesting to see how much people pay attention to the leader, especially considering those are the people who (hopefully) get to become premier, or prime minister some day. I think we are in a current charisma shortage in leaders of today. And we are also going to have a change in political leaders in the next few years.
Why I Like Leadership Races
I think political leadership races are a good time for a political party to showcase the variety and depth of their top members. I think about how impressed I was with the most recent federal NDP leadership race and the variety in the candidates. I also think it is crazy how many upcoming leadership races we are gonna have, just in the Liberal party alone.
- Manitoba Liberals: John Gerard will be stepping down and a new leader decided in 2012!
- Federal Liberals: a leadership race begins this November to be completed by 2013! Bob Rae is interim leader until then
- Quebec Liberals: are in the process of beginning a campaign with several people hoping to replace Jean Charest.
Now, I do not belong to any political party because I have yet to find a party where I can forgive their histories, or overlook a current policy that doesn’t represent my own beliefs. However, I do not like 2 party political systems. In fact I am not a fan of the party system at all and feel it resembles gangs. However, since we do not have an option on the table right now to radically change the way we are politically governed, then I suppose we are stuck with the party system.
Why are the Liberals Important?
Now why am I so interested in the Liberal Party? Its recent collapse at the federal level and in many provinces is a signal to me that Canadians are ready for change. And while many people in the NDP are trying to convince people that is us, or the conservatives, I choose to disagree. I believe it is important for us as voters to have a variety of options to choose from when we go to the polls, and a strong liberal party provides a 3rd alternative. I am also very happy that the Green Party is growing and with leaders like James Beddome have a lot of confidence that they will g row to become yet another option. And I cannot forget the Communist Party which also exists and provides another people focused vision of what provincial governance should be.
I hope that all of these Leadership races go well and provide voters across Canada with a 3rd alternative to the extreme left and the extreme right.
MC
PS – on Justin Trudeau, well I think he is untested but I am always down with giving young people an opportunity. IOt is my hope that he comes up against 5 or 6 tough contenders to test his ability to stand up for himself and accurately represent values that resonate with Canadians Personally, I am not familiar enough with him to have much of an opinion, other than the fact I think Katimavik is an amazing idea.
Politix Brain Storm 
I believe Leadership Races are good for politics. Raises issues, plots the course for policy, brings news and excitement to politics outside the regular election cycle and engages and increases party memberships.
As for Justin Trudeau, I find that he speaks more like a New Democrat than a Liberal. I do appreciate his charisma and the fact he supports youth and the environment. I just worry about whether he will do as he says and work with others to do what is best for the majority of Canadians and not get bogged down in silly labels and partisanship.
To be forthright, I am a member of the NDP, and he is the only Liberal candidate that gives me any reason to worry about the LPC making progress in coming back from 3rd. It is the LPC’s hailmary pass. Last chance, all or nothing.
There could be an interesting scenario where he could be in a position to form a coalition government with the NDP after the next election. It’ll be fun to watch all that unfold. This is also presuming he does win the LPC Leadership Race of course.