The landscape shifts

All three provincial party leaders were in the news this weekend and all three reminded me of why they are where they are.

Dalton McGuinty got 95.4% support from his Liberal Party to continue on with his leadership unchallenged.

John Tory joined hapless federal finance minister Jim Flawerty in calling for tax hikes to solve Ontario's economic challenges.

Howard Hampton resigned as leader of the NDP, which is both good and bad news for the party. The good news is he's gone, with his angry, acrimonious approach to politics. The bad news is he's done no succession planning and the field of would-be candidates is thinner than the Leafs' chances of winning the Stanley Cup next year.

Our fearless, feckless, idiot finance minister Jim Flawerty is a one tune pony - cut taxes. When you don't know what to do, when you have no plan, when you are too stubborn to recognize the intelligence behind the suggestions of mayors and premiers across the country - then you keep whistling the only tune you know in hopes it will make somebody's hit parade. And by dam it did. There's good old John Tory hopping around Ottawa this week, calling for tax cuts to fix Ontario.

Geeeeze - what a contrast with Tories of years gone by who understood that right wing rhetoric was just that - hot air by those who bore no responsibility. In Bill Davis' time, or John Robarts or even more so back in the days of Leslie Frost, Tories understood what it meant to lead, to build a province, to use many tools in dealing with a diverse province with diverse needs. There was a time John Tory understood that and his party understood it. But that was before Mike Harris and his moron brigade got hold of things and five years later their mentality still has a hammerlock on the party. John Tory was the answer for a party that had clearly lost its way. But the Harris mentality of eating its young has crippled the leader and Tory has been forced to embrace the simplistic, idiotic policies of the radical right, including tax cuts as THE answer. The Tories are assured of being in the wilderness for at least one more election.

Hampton has stayed way beyond his best before date. He should have gone five or even six years ago. In fact, he should never have become leader. Francis Lankin was and is superior in every way to Hampton but the party that pretends to be on the cutting edge is, in reality, far more conservative than the reform group in Ottawa. They were afraid to opt for the best candidate and instead settled for Hampton and they deserve everything that has happened to them as a result. Their appeal is negligible, their policies are rooted in the 1960s and they haven't made any positive impact on the province since Stephen Lewis stepped down. And no - Rae Days was an unmitigated disaster but I digress. If the NDP can get Lankin to come back they have a hope but I bet she won't touch them with a barge pole and why should she? Marilyn Churley? Cheri DiNovo, Peter Tabuns, Michael Prue? Nice folks all, most probably, but a leader? Don't think so.

McGuinty. What can you say? Now we all know what Beaver grew up to become - the earnest, deeply sincere, hard working guy next door who's just like most of us, except he's premier. Bill Davis used to say Bland Works and it did work to perfection for him. Well Beaver works for Dalton in the same way. The problem for the preem, though, is that there is no opposition in the Legislature so he runs the risk that the media will take it upon themselves to become Opposition Leader. Robert Benzie of the Star already is a no brains pit bull content simply to gore someone everyday rather than do the real work of reporting. Murray Campbell of the Globe and Mail is about 200 steps above Benzie on the intellect scale and another 200 up in his insights. But Campbell, too, has his moments and may not be able to resist taking on the government if the other two parties continue in their current disarray.

A couple of things could change the outlook substantially. If the NDP could lure Lankin away from the United Way, and if the Tories split with jackass Randy Hillier leading a splinter group off into the wilderness, then all bets are off. Lankin coming back is almost impossible to believe. Many people following Hillier is also impossible to believe but if he drains 500 votes per riding the Tories are toast.

Say this - the next few months should be interesting.