Why Belinda Crossed
Well, this is exactly why you have got to love politics. Just when you think you could plot the next year and half of Canada’s political timeline, something happens that comes straight from left field. Today, I definitely did not see this coming.
Belinda Stronach, a one time candidate for the Conservative party leadership, crossed the floor today and will sit in the PM’s cabinet as the minister of human resources and skills development. This is a significant development, as not only will this possibly save the Liberal government, it could also undermine what has been long term conservative growth in Canada.
So, obviously, there are blogs and comments abound concerning Belinda’s motivation in crossing over… and I’ll be no different. Speculation can usually be grouped according to affiliation. However, to me, it is clear that Stronach is attracted to power, and this is the impetus behind Belinda’s move. I consider it quite telling that her first foray into politics was a run for the conservative party’s leadership. Failing that, she quickly moved into an MP position on the momentum of her “fresh face” appeal and the massive exposure she bought. Her attachment to Peter Mackay, while not a strategical move, does betray her attraction to power (not taking anything away from the dashing Peter Mackay, of course). And finally, her rhetoric does not match her actions today. In the past she has been highly critical of this government’s credibility and political agenda. She even criticized Paul Martin and his role in the Liberal scandal.(see here for a good post) . This interview further demonstrates Stronach’s divergence between talk and walk. Either she is of two minds, or, and more likely, she is taking advantage of current political turmoil. Belinda uses current situations to further her own goals, and the recent noisome gaming on the hill was fertile soil for this defection. Harper, however predictably, called her move ambitious and nothing in her actions has proved otherwise. You are the choices you make, so forget what the PM, overly enraged conservatives and Belinda herself say today. Belinda has made a play for power; a play that is certainly fraught with risk. In any case, power hunger has been quite becoming as of late, and she should find no problems in that regard.
For power? Possibly. But surely a safer bet for her for power would have been to stick with the conservatives.
It seems to me more likely that the issue is ideological. It is clear that she is out-of-sync with her caucus colleagues and much of her party. She decided to go where her politics fit better. (I mean she was on the left wing of the Conservatives; now she is more or less in the center of the Liberals.)
Why now? That’s a puzzle. But any moment would surely seem arbitrary. She played a role in bringing the PCs and CA together. Perhaps she had thought that the new party would be more like Joe Clark and less like Harper.
Comment by achilles — May 18, 2005 @ 3:32 am
Why she chose now really isn’t a puzzle at all; she had the most to gain from the move right now. Stronach’s track record betrays her cost vs. profit motive in everything she does. If she was “out-of-sync” with the Conservatives, why didn’t she make a bid for a Liberal job (which would have been a better fit) in the first place? Because she had the best chance at considerable gain in the conservative party. Why does she join the liberals now? Because a cabinet position was probably dangled in front of her nose. Her professed conscience of crisis does not align with her past statements. To say that her move was based on ideology is completely inconsistent with her actions. And as to rising to power in the conservatives, I’m sure Belinda saw a long line and long days before she was anywhere near what she wants to attain. Further, this move may not be as risky as everyone perceives at the moment. If the conservatives begin to fall, which her move may launch, Stronach will be able to profess her actions as justifiable. With Harper at the helm tory helm and Stronach having acquired the backing of a more refined public relations team, conservative buckling is all too likely.
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