If I recall layton didn't have a seat in the House of Commons when he was elected leader. I suppose when I get to know a bit more about Topp Ill be in a better position to comment. But the party has made great strides of late and I'm just not sure Leader of the Official Opposition should be an entry level position.
It probably shouldn't, but it's been done before. Layton didn't have a seat, but he held elected office and did have a public profile, even outside of hogtown.
I think the fact that Topp has never held public office to be a perfectly legitimate consideration. Given a choice between two otherwise identical candidates, one with experience in public ofice and one without, I'd choose the one who had held public office.
But experience in public office is (and should be) only one consideration among many.
In 2009, 45% of Saskatchewan New Democrats chose to support a candidate who had never even sought public office over a candidate with something in the order of 20 years in pblic office, including service as a senior cabinet minister and as deputy premier. I was one of them. I don't really care if Hunky_Monkey thinks all 4000+ of us were stupid.
I... . In 2009, 45% of Saskatchewan New Democrats chose to support a candidate who had never even sought public office over a candidate with something in the order of 20 years in pblic office, including service as a senior cabinet minister and as deputy premier. I was one of them. I don't really care if Hunky_Monkey thinks all 4000+ of us were stupid.
It is worth saluting the wisdom of voters/delegates who can be open to a candidate without political "credentials";
the credentials needed to run for public office in Canada are:
1) to be a citizen;
2+) doesn't matter, every citizen is eligible.
Mulcair 19, Top 10, Saganash 1.
Both the NDP and Liberals are preparing to elect new leaders. The poll asked voters from each party who should head their respective parties. Among NDP voters, Thomas Mulcair, who is expected to run, leads the pack.
Nationally, 17 per cent of NDP supporters backed Mulcair, an MP and former Quebec minister. In Quebec, 50 per cent said they would like to see Mulcair, the NDP's deputy leader, take charge.
Party president Brian Topp, the first declared candidate, came second, garnering 10 per cent nationally and eight per cent in Quebec.
Quebec MP and former Cree leader Romeo Saganash is the only other declared candidate. In the poll, one per cent of NDP voters in Quebec said they would support Saganash as leader. No respondents in the rest of Canada said they would back him.
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Orange+Crush+just+blip/5422727/story.html#ixzz1YOdBh8Ym
I meant Mulcair 17
Mulcair reflects on his chances. His theme seems to be that he can bring same energy to building the party in the ROC that was brought to bear in Quebec. he is also presenting himself as the underrdog.
Thomas Mulcair: NDP Leadership Bid Could Be Stalled By Lack Of Quebec Party Votes
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/19/thomas-mulcair-briant-topp-leade...
Lysiane does a Lysiane, soft touch and pretty positive, on Topp, although doubting his political experience will necessarily translate to Parliament:
Mr. Topp, 51, is gentle, modest, genial and serious, yet with a wry, self-deprecating sense of humour. As he is now, before stylists, speechwriters, and image-makers start working on him, he looks like the guy next door - decent and reassuring, someone you'd trust with your children.
A pleasant surprise was the quality of Mr. Topp's French - he speaks it much better than either Prime Minister Stephen Harper or Mr. Layton. No wonder, since French is actually his mother tongue, a language he learned from a francophone mother who had been schooled by the famously demanding Ursuline nuns in Quebec City. French was the language at home, since his father, an anglophone from the Eastern Townships, was thoroughly bilingual.
Mr. Topp has the style and behaviour of the political strategist he's been for so long. He speaks in a low voice, with a quasi-confidential tone and an occasional wink. One easily imagines him writing position papers, devising strategies, sitting around a table with other backroom boys. It's harder to imagine him on the hustings.
How can this man who has never run for office or had to deal with the turmoil of parliamentary life face tough political animals such as Mr. Harper or Bob Rae, the interim Liberal leader? He wouldn't be good in a shooting match, but his arguments would be sound because he's obviously very bright, knows a great deal about politics, and is the ultimate Canadian: After 30 years in Quebec, he worked in Ottawa, Regina and Vancouver and is now a Torontonian.
Closing for length.
