Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Rae Withdraws From Liberal Party Leadership Race

This afternoon, Bob Rae announced his withdrawal from the Liberal Party leadership race. This comes the day after Dominic LeBlanc left the race and announced his support for Michael Ignatieff.

The Liberal Party leadership race is scheduled to take place this May in Vancouver but the efforts to force a confidence vote against Stephen Harper's Conservative government and Harper's move to suspend Parliament put the focus back on the Liberals.

The Liberals did not want Stephane Dion at the helm and it became clear most Liberal MPs supported Ignatieff. Rae wanted every Liberal Party member to vote. The Liberal Party National Executive announced yesterday it would consult with 800 members. The former Ontario NDP Premier saw the writing on the wall and made room for Ignatieff.

These 800 members will within the next week annoint Ignatieff as the interim Liberal Party leader and a formal coronation will take place at the convention in Vancouver.

I am planning to write in more detail about Ignatieff given there is a strong possibility he could become Canada's next Prime Minister.

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