Forme Liberal Prime Minister John Turner may not be as spry as he once was, but he's still fiesty as can be. Today at the Council of Presidents meeting at the Liberal convention, with Michael Ignatieff sitting beside him, Turner made an impassioned call for grassroots empowement.
In particular, Turner challenged Ignatieff to not appoint any candidates but allow all candidates to be nominated by their ridings. He also called for more real and meaningful grassroots policy development, and freevotes for all MPs on anything other than the budget and the throne speech.
A good show by Turner, but I can't help but wonder where he was in these issues when he actually was the leader. Still, good to be saying it anyways.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Video: John Turner at Council of Presidents
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Well, at least we know where Ignatieff is on these issues:
gnatieff responded to Turner’s comments during sunny press scrum convened on a terrace atop the new convention centre, with the North Shore Mountains as a scenic backdrop.
“I said to John that I didn’t agree with every single word he said,” Ignatieff said.
“I want open nominations in every riding… but I cannot abandon the prerogative of a leader to make those appointments that I deem necessary,” he continued.
“I want to make it clear, I want to use the power of appointment as rarely as I possibly can,” Ignatieff added. “I respect the grassroots of this party and I know I can’t rebuild the party unless it is from the bottom up."
If I were one of the engineers of the Liberal 308 intiative, I wouldn't be very enthused with Ignatieff's comments.
It sounded a little much like: I agree... sort of.
At least, that he'll allow ridings to select their candidates so long as it remains convenient for him.
Post a Comment