CAN CHES CROSBIE REBUILD A BROKEN PARTY?

If new Tory leader Ches Crosbie had hoped to wear the moniker “Landslide” after last weekend’s vote, the Party had no qualms denying him any such expression of unanimity.

The contest was a straight two-way leadership race. With Crosbie winning 57% of the vote against 43% for Tony Wakeham, according to the media, the outcome was respectable but hardly overwhelming.

Wakeham came into the race late and with a communications plan that didn’t include the general public. He exhibited little knowledge of public policy issues, too.

In contrast, Crosbie demonstrated preparedness and a willingness to engage people on the ground and on social media. His legal experience shone through the process; his speech was thoughtful and careful.

DELEGATED CONVENTIONS: REPLACING EXILARATION WITH BOREDOM?

Two weeks ago, delegates to the P.C. Convention and those listening in, via radio and television, got to experience their first delegated leadership convention in 20 years. Some had previously participated in one or more. They likely took for granted Steve Kent’s move to Paul Davis following the first ballot results. Not so the newbies who seemed quite surprised by the drama that unfolded. For them, it seemed, shifting loyalties produced a range of emotions.

Welcome to the delegated convention!

Imagine there were five or six contenders or more; think the surprise, the sense of excitement, disappointment, as hopes are dashed and promises once assured are replaced with those to higher placed and more likely successful contenders. Think of the sense of fear when the votes of a candidate who is dropped are up for grabs.  Will candidate X ‘release’ his delegates? Will he deliver his (sic) delegates to another contender, as did Steve Kent asked his supporters? How many will follow? (In case you were wondering, Kent’s arrival on the platform to thank his delegates and encourage their support of Davis constituted a breakdown in the protocol of Convention management.)

P.C. CONVENTION COMMITTEE BACKS OFF. WILLIAMS, TOO!

The P.C. Party’s Convention Committee has backed away from plans to use the “Delegate List” chosen for the recent Leadership Contest. The Committee has issued orders to start over.  

A new Leadership Race became necessary when Frank Coleman stepped aside this week, having become the Premier Designate when Bill Barry dropped out.  The new delegate selection process will run from July 14 to August 14, 2014.  Nominations for leader will open on Monday, June 23 and run until July 7, 2014.  The PC Party will now elect a new leader on the weekend of September 12th and 13^th.

Some Party insiders were irate that candidates running in the new leadership contest might have to be chosen by delegates selected for Frank Coleman. It seems Party members, elected to the Executive of District Associations during the same meetings, will keep their positions.   It is too early to say if their status will still be a bone of contention by candidates entering the new contest.

COLEMAN'S GONE. THE NEW “FIX” IS ALREADY IN

The resignation of Frank Coleman, as Premier Designate, has given the P.C Party another chance for change though Tory insiders report the opportunity already squandered. 

There is no way to categorize the Tories’ current circumstance other than to characterize it a mess.  While it seemed improbable, at first, that former Premier Kathy Dunderdale’s unsuitability could be outstripped, the grocer version of the gong show has surely upped the ante.    

We are asked by Frank Coleman to take his word that the reason for quitting was due to a matter “significant” and “challenging”.  Yet, he has no storehouse of credit with the public against which such a huge good-faith demand might be charged.

The P.C. Party is in disarray and he, personally, can claim a goodly part of the responsibility. His acquiescence to Williams’ meddling, in the Leadership Campaign and his own engagement in the Humber Valley Paving affair, leave a Province more cynical about its politics and its patience tapped out.   

PREMIER FRANK COLEMAN: DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Frank Coleman’s journey to the Premier’s Office is off the rails.   

It is not due to Bill Barry’s decision to exit the Race. 

Nor is it due to the widespread bewilderment over Coleman’s acknowledged “pro-life” stand on the abortion issue; though it, too, is a part of this narrative.

It is not entirely due to Political Science Professor Steve Tomlin’s comments which characterize Mr. Coleman’s “Coronation” as a “train-wreck”; though his metaphor contains precision so striking you could actually see the body politic nod in agreement.   

Nor is it entirely because Coleman chose the last minute to enter the race and then disappear, leaving a perception that he plans to be a political hermit, determined to keep his distance, which The Telegram rightly described as “arm’s length”.  

For all of those reasons, and then some, as far as the act of becoming Premier is concerned, Frank Coleman is dead on arrival.

ALL HAIL PREMIER FRANK COLEMAN

A new name has emerged in the race for the Tory Leadership.   Frank Coleman, scion of the well-known Newfoundland business family, has confirmed to the media that he is interested in the job.  A decision is imminent.

People who know Frank Coleman personally (I do not) describe him as bright, analytical and thoughtful.  The same people describe him as possessing a charisma that is “quiet and reserved”.  In all likelihood they are fans.

Even if this picture is only partly correct, Coleman would not be making this decision on a whim; he would have the overwhelming support of the P.C. Caucus.  More likely, their support is unanimous.

Coleman’s expression of interest in the role of Premier is significant and not just because he wasn’t on the media’s list. 

Frank Coleman is being courted.