Asked about the implications of proposed changes to introduce one member, one vote for the next leader, Mr. MacKay said on Wednesday: “People would leave the party.”
Asked if he would be one of them, he replied: “I’d think about it. It would be a very different party with a very different future.”
Mr. MacKay, the Defence Minister, was leader of the Progressive Conservative party in 2003 when he agreed to a merger with Stephen Harper’s Canadian Alliance, conditional on each riding having an equal say in a subsequent leadership vote.
Since then, there have been regular attempts at party conventions to overturn the agreement through resolutions that would give more weight to larger ridings.
Mr. MacKay said this is the fifth time he has had to stand up for what he calls a “founding principle.”
“[The proposals] send a distinct message to Quebec, the North and Atlantic Canada, ‘thanks for coming out but your votes don’t count as much’,” he said in an interview from Heathrow Airport in London.
“Every time it comes up, the same old fault lines are exposed. Given the important issues facing the country – the economy, national security – this is insider baseball at its worst.”
Proponents of change have put up two resolutions that would reward ridings that have recruited more members. The sponsors, who are not identified, argue that the present system discriminates against members in large ridings by making their votes worth less. One resolution would give more voting points to larger ridings, while the other advocates one member, one vote. Only one of the two will make it to the convention floor.
Such proposals have been defeated at four previous conventions. One Ontario MP said he thinks caucus at least will vote for the status quo. “Caucus is overwhelmingly supportive of a process that produces a national party.” But there have been suggestions that the resolution may gain more support in Calgary, where the idea of some kind of proportional system has broad popular support.
Supporters of change have suggested that Mr. MacKay is taking a hard line in order to further his own leadership ambitions (one member, one vote would benefit candidates from the West and Ontario that have large riding associations). But the Defence Minister dismissed the idea of a leadership challenge as “silly.”
“Stephen Harper has a lock on the leadership for as long as he wants it,” he said.
In fact, sources close to Mr. MacKay suggest that he no longer has the “singular focus on politics” that he had in 2003, when he ran for the leadership of the PCs. “His priorities are different now,” said one person, pointing to his recent marriage and fatherhood.
While even Mr. Harper’s harshest critics agree that he will remain primus inter pares until he decides otherwise, there are rumours that former industry minister Jim Prentice is gearing up for an eventual bid.
‘Every time it comes up, the same old fault lines are exposed’
People close to Mr. Prentice say he is not organizing but his current role as vice-chair of CIBC involves him touring the country offering commentary on public policy from the bank’s point of view. A recent speech in Halifax on the prospect of North American energy independence and the implications for Canadian public policy read very much like a leadership manifesto.
With Mr. MacKay likely to step aside, Mr. Prentice is the obvious bearer of the Red Tory standard. James Moore, the Heritage Minister, and Jason Kenney, the Immigration Minister, are also widely expected to be contenders, if Mr. Harper decides that he has become an impediment to continued Conservative success.
Mr. Kenney has told friends he has no plans to run – a disclaimer some suggest may be the truth but not the whole truth.
All candidates know that they need to be ready when the window of opportunity opens. And with a leader as mercurial of mood as Mr. Harper, there is a sense that it could spring wide at any time.
Original Article
Source: fullcomment.nationalpost.com
Author: John Ivison
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