Monday, August 14, 2006

Call Me Maurizio

Maurizio Bevilacqua becomes the first candidate to drop out of the Liberal leadership race, no doubt for financial reasons.

I've always been very impressed with Maurizio and he was certainly among the best 3 or 4 candidates in this race, in my opinion. He's certainly a future Finance Minister and, one would imagine, this may not be his last leadership bid. You can read my profile of him here and my interview with him here.

After interviewing him, it was pretty clear to me that he'd never back Ignatieff but it is certainly a bit surprising to see him endorsing Bob Rae. It's undeniably a big coup for Rae; life long, right wing Liberals from Ontario who don't have shares in Power Corp are certainly a valuable commodity to him.

posted by calgarygrit at 11:28 a.m.

25 Comments:

  • I too liked Bevilacqua - sorry to see him go.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 12:18 p.m.  

  • I thought that Maurizio had added a lot to the race, and its a real shame that if he did have to leave on account of financial reasons.

    Still, he is young yet, and especially if he makes it into Cabinet, he will be back.

    By Blogger an Mike Powell, at 1:21 p.m.  

  • Yeah, I figured he was the most credible of the longshots. A guy who qualified to be in the race but really had no shot at winning.

    By Blogger Aristo, at 1:36 p.m.  

  • I agree with all of you... I thought he added a lot to the campaign race.

    Too bad.

    By Blogger Joe Calgary, at 1:42 p.m.  

  • Hopefully this marks the start of the culling of the herd...if that is Bevilacqua's legacy, then he did make a meaningful contribution to this race...otherwise...

    By Blogger Leny Vilekoskytch, at 2:18 p.m.  

  • So Bevilacqua is out and throwing support behind Rae. I agree it was for financial reasons, but his supporting Rae might have had something to do with the idea that Rae's top finance people may have decided to pay off Bevilacqua's debt in exchange for his support. It would make sense, as even I wouldnt think of him as being a Rae guy; afterall Bevilacqua is more centrist (some even say right) and Rae is a lefty.

    I mean its just a thought and I dont know, but its interesting to say the least. I didnt think Bevilacqua would be the first to go, although I knew it was only a matter of time.

    By Blogger Just another Liberal, at 4:10 p.m.  

  • More likely to do with Bevilacqua and Greg Sorbara sharing the same riding. Sorbara and his people would have been putting some pressure on, making promises, and probably did very very well in the membership drive (meaning Bevilacqua could have been facing an unfriendly riding association executive next year).

    By Blogger Ted Betts, at 4:45 p.m.  

  • an mp sez:

    "Still, he is young yet, and especially if he makes it into Cabinet, he will be back."

    er... you, of course are assuming, that the Liberals are going to make up the government any time soon? With the batch of leadership hopefuls who are out there, and especially what now seems to be a Rae-Volpe possibility of winning, I wouldn't bet on in.

    Either one of those two are the Conservatives best dreams. Vople, the "honest, it was just the kid's allowances contributions" and Rae, "Mr. 11 Billion Dollar Deficit" are just way to easy as targets. Way to easy.

    Ignaiteff, well, one actually needs to live in Canada to understand what a Canadian is.

    As a conservative, am I ever glad that the Manley's, the McKenna's and even the Tobin's did not run.

    There is a God!

    By Blogger Andy, at 4:52 p.m.  

  • Oh yeah TL, looks like Joe's on his way to victory!

    PS: Maurizio Bevi-who? Please people, this guy's endorsement doesn't mean much.

    I do hope the "anybody but Iggy" trend doesn't grow because of this though.

    By Blogger Forward Looking Canadian, at 6:35 p.m.  

  • "He's certainly a future Finance Minister"

    Really. That's an interesting proposition, for a wide variety of reasons. Being conservative, maybe I'll point out the one that involves Liberals and arrogance. Or mabye not. Never mind.

    By Blogger Dennis (Second Thots), at 6:58 p.m.  

  • cyber menace; Maurizio's 45. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume the Liberals win an election at some point in the next 15 or 20 years...

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 8:19 p.m.  

  • Toronto Liberal - Some of us are tired of your Volpe rantings, which are completely untrue. Bevilacqua was a guy with good ideas, a uniter, and someone who has a bright future in the party. Volpe is a slimeball who represents everything that is wrong with politics. If the Liberals are serious about returning to power, which I hope they are, then choosing Volpe is not the way to go.

    And I do agree with CG that the Liberals will return to power within the next 15-20 years, I would say that I am almost positive sometime in the next 10 years the Liberals will form government.

    By Blogger Monkey Loves to Fight, at 9:25 p.m.  

  • The Liberals not being in power is hardly a bar to Bevilacqua becoming Finance Minister...just need Harper to decide he'd like another Ontario seat.

    By Blogger Leny Vilekoskytch, at 9:28 p.m.  

  • (Am I the only one who thinks A Toronto Liberal is a genius?? I've always thought he was playing a months-long satirical character enamoured with Joe Volpe... his posts have always cracked me up with his assertions. Hope I'm not spoiling his act... but I think 22 Minutes should give him a weekly spot)

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 10:35 p.m.  

  • ATL: STOP already! or issue spew alerts or something.

    "I am a genius.

    Hence why I have made the smart choice and am working hard for Joe Volpe, whereas those without much in the brains department (Bart Ramson, Jason Cherniak, ect) are not on Team Volpe and are wasting their time with pretenders."

    HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

    my stomach hurts.

    I would argue that you are an idiot, but that is just my not-so-humble-CPC-supporting-opinion.

    Volpe wins the leadership of the Liberal Party...

    THANK YOU, GOD! (Proof there IS a God, and She has a great sense of humor)

    By Blogger Candace, at 12:27 a.m.  

  • Miles et al.
    there are many people supporting volpe, regardless of how many names and slurs you throw at him. unlike other campaigns, his people worked hard at selling memberships. Supporters of other candidates have worked hard at spin doctoring and ranting and raveing why nobody should vote for 10 candidates, and therefore, should vote for their choice. this is not a time for people to be bashing someone who will elect a lot of delegates. this is someone who you will either be supporting, or pleading with for support for your candidate. choose your words carefully.

    By Blogger kenlister1, at 1:28 a.m.  

  • A Toronto Liberal and KTR - If you honestly believe after the whole Apotex episode and Volpe's past troubles he is still the right person to lead the Liberals to victory next election you are being very delusional. I suggest you travel outside of Toronto, which will go Liberal no matter what, and go to some swing ridings and see what people think of Volpe. I as a Liberal want to see Harper defeated next election and that is why I will work hard to ensure we choose someone who can defeat him. I agree our party should be united, but now is also the time to point out other candidates flaws so they don't get chosen, rather than do nothing and let the Conservatives point out their flaws, who I can assure you will be a heck of lot nastier.

    That being said, I have a suspicion Toronto Liberal is really a Tory who is just trying to drum up support for Volpe since he knows that is the one Harper would have the easiest time beating.

    I've chosen a candidate who is respected by Liberals across the board and can defeat Harper and that is Stephane Dion.

    By Blogger Monkey Loves to Fight, at 1:46 a.m.  

  • Say Goodbye to your best. imo.

    By Blogger NorthBayTrapper, at 9:57 a.m.  

  • To Miles:

    You and those like you are the problem with the Liberal Party. You are no longer a party of vindication or vision. You don't stand up for what you deeply in, even though it may not be popular. It is only about winning.

    "I as a Liberal want to see Harper defeated next election and that is why I will work hard to ensure we choose someone who can defeat him."

    By Blogger NorthBayTrapper, at 10:04 a.m.  

  • God, I agree with NorthBayTrapper. :( The Liberals (in a general sense) look less and less answer- and solution- and vision-oriented, and just more win-hungry.

    I think the Liberal Party has a big lot to offer to us, though, so I hope the ideas and solutions part will ultimately win.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 10:45 a.m.  

  • Does anyone actually believe that 35,000 people signed up of their own volition for Volpe? Everything I am hearing out of Quebec suggests that no small share of those memberships were bought and signed-up en masse, and that there will be a lot of people who are surprised they are party members come September 30.

    Volpe is as old school as they come. He thinks he's qualified because he can say hello in 30 languages. He's a shallow politician, easily given over to the quick lie, a first-rate practioner of ethnic politics, a nomination stealer, a hypocrite on gay rights and abortion, and a quick draw on the Government credit card. He may be a nice guy, but he's no leader of an institution as old and successful as the Liberal Party of Canada. Conservatives pray for his victory. Other Liberal candidates pray no one will notice when he comes towards them on the convention floor.

    By Blogger Peter Loewen, at 4:03 p.m.  

  • Even if I had never heard of the kiddy memberships, I would still think Volpe looks, sounds and acts like a slimeball. His family might not agree, but that's the optics he gives off.

    And apart from choosing someone who can beat Harper - which might be the easy part of the decision - I want to see a leader who will be good for Canada.

    For me, that looks like Dion or Brison. I doubt that Brison has a chance, but I like his platform, which is business-friendly enough to appeal to former PCs like myself. He knows how to get it paid for, too, without taxing us to death. Not a whole lot of difference between them on the other issues that mean a lot to me: environment, poverty, health, education, so I would be happy with either of them.

    Would personally rather see Rae on the last ballot than Iggy, by a longshot, but then I haven't lived in Ontario in a few centuries. Rae's international experience in strife-torn countries like Sri Lanka and Iraq hasn't had enough air time, in my opinion.

    Definitely not Kennedy, who has no experience at all - that I know of - other than running food banks. Maybe a few months as an Ontario cabinet minister? How that would qualify him for a spot at the G8 meetings escapes me. Same with Dryden, apparently a nice guy, who ran the Leafs - enough said. His own Stanley Cup rings don't really mean a lot in this particular contest. Where did he take the Leafs?

    Trouble is, unless they are Johnny-Come-Latelys, they would have too much history with the Chretien Gang.

    Well, it's "only" August, and more candidates will be coming down with foot-in-mouth disease as time goes on... Hopefully the serious bottom-feeders will take a leaf out of Bevilacqua's book. He seemed like a much more attractive choice, too.

    By Blogger Penelope Persons, at 4:41 p.m.  

  • Definitely not Kennedy, who has no experience at all - that I know of - other than running food banks. Maybe a few months as an Ontario cabinet minister?

    In fairness, Gerard has over a decade of elected MPP experience and close to three years running one of the largest departments in the country (Ontario education has a budget the size of some provinces).

    Given the field, that leaves him in a comparable position experience wise to the likes of Brison and Volpe, although admitedly behind Rae (and Dion to a lesser extent).

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 5:03 p.m.  

  • Redmapleleaf and Toronto Liberal - I've been to many Liberal functions and met well over 100 Liberals and not one of them is supporting Volpe and most think he is a slimeball. And lets remember these are real liberals who volunteered for the party last election, support the liberal philosophy, and actually have some commitment to the party, not instant members who have no loyalty to the party. Lets work together to support someone who can defeat Harper. I am supporting Dion who can, but CG's choice of Gerard Kennedy is also another good one. If we want to go back to the old style politics, choose Volpe, but if we want to move ahead, choose someone else.

    By Blogger Monkey Loves to Fight, at 12:13 a.m.  

  • MB is now supporting Bob Rae. The fellow farthest away from his own beliefs!

    I retract what I said about him being the best candidate so far. He's perpetuating the Liberal stereotype of slimeball.

    Speaking as a Conservative who loves his country, Gerard is now my hope to lead the Liberal party. And yes, we Conservatives would be thrilled if Volpe won! (tongue in cheek)

    By Blogger NorthBayTrapper, at 7:33 a.m.  

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