Nova Scotia Politics Heats Up...
...with the retirement announcement of Premier John Hamm. Speculation is that no fewer than eight candidates are interested in running--the first leadership race for the NS PC Party in ten years.
posted by ROC @ 4:03 pm
6 comments
6 Comments:
While it is still early going, and I do want to show utmost respect for Dr. Hamm, I would also like to know more about who the 8 or so individuals are! I think I can guess a few of them.
Personally, while I wish John Hamm had stayed, I wouldn't mind seeing Brian Lee Crowley of The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies take a run at the PC Party of NS leadership.
Liam. I agree. I would liked Dr. Hamm to run in the next election. NS PC this year with leadership shoudl be a very interesting time.
I suspect that we will end up seeing 5 or so people takea run at the leadership.
My guess is that Black, LeBlanc and Clarke will emerge as the top three (not in that order).
Crowley would be an interesting choice, seeingas far as I can tell he would be from outside the current ranks. I have been up of the province for a while. Has he been politically active?
Brian Lee Crowley is president of a non-partisan Institute. AIMS will co-operate with people who are willing to consider and discuss ideas that relate to market-based solutions to public policy problems.
As Policy Director of the NSYPC and Preisdent of the Dal Tories last yearm I helped host a policy forum on Economic Freedom at Dalhousie University. Brian was one of our guest speakers. When there have been policy sessions or meetings, and he or somebody from AIMS has been invited, he always makes a point of coming.
So, in short, Brian has been policy-active but not politically active. This may prove to be a slight challenge in getting somebody like that elected by party members, but I think the larger challenge might be drafting him!
It's too bad though. I think Crowley is precisely the kind of leader the party needs to take the next steps and keep the party on track with fiscal/economic responsibility. Also, I'm pretty sure he is a resident of Halifax Needham -- he might help stem some NDP backwash.
Beyond that, If I was still in Nova Scotia, I'd have to wait and see who announces and evaluate them based on their commitments to free enterprise, self-reliance and individual initiative.
I've met LeBlanc, Black and Clarke. All good guys. Of the three, I would consider LeBlanc's record as finance minister the closest thing we have to anyone with any record of fiscal restraint. But even that doesn't matter a whole lot in terms of determining who would be best in the future. I would advise folks to evaluate that based on the same values we used to evaluate each part in NS in 1999.... Look for a leadership candidate with the most realistic commitments on policy. Look for a candidate who commits to specific and tough policies on lower taxes, less government, privatization etc... and if they haven't got a record that reflects it clear enough, get it in writing.
I agree it is often tough to get the real policy people to run for leadership of any political party. Often they have to take a little water with their wine in order to get elected.
Of course that just speaks volumes of the level of debate in this country. normally the provinical side is better than Federal, so hopefully the NS PC leadership race will actually be a debate on where to take Nova Scotia in the next ten years. I agree, the three I mentioned seem to be interesting, and I hope at least one will place themselves on the right to ensure that some debate comes to light. Everyone running for the centre is not in the interest of Nova Scotia.
EC,
But which of the tentative candidates do you think would be the right's standard-bearer?
Can someone run to the right (ie. further than Hamm's debt repayment/lower taxes/eliminating deficit) in NS and win the leadership-Premiership?
-ROC.
The benefit of having so much traditional politcs tied up in families and clans and aliances is that with the right supporters, a leadership candidate can do a lot more in Nova Scotia than most people realize. Hamm was, in a way, a mild test balloon.
Yep, shutting down/privatizing crown corps and cutting taxes wasn't very popular -- in the depths of Industrial Cape Breton (even in parts of there, Tories had a decent showing). So the PC 20% in Nova becomes 10%. Rural Mainland is generally Tory. Halifax and its suburbs are social liberals but also encouraging some market ideas (well, outside the less-likely-to-vote university students).
In the PC Party, like the other parties in NS, there are many people who are well respected n their region or district. A Smart leadership candidate seels his/her vision to them.
I hope there is a candidate to carry the message of the right. I think Crowley is a viable option, especially in metro area.
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