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|Monday March 8, 2004 |
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Martin 2 - Chretien 0
Martin: 2, Chretien: 0. That's the score of this past
political weekend, a sensational weekend in federal politics in Ontario
marred with messy Liberal nominations for the upcoming federal election.
Prime Minister Paul Martin and Jean Chretien obviously were nowhere to be
seen in the action that took place Saturday in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek,
where Transport minister Tony Valeri defeated former veteran Cabinet
minister Sheila Copps. Nor were they seen in Mississauga where Liberal MP
Carolyn Parrish battled it out with another former Chretien Cabinet minister
Steve Mahoney. Both nomination battles are regarded as extensions of the
leadership race between Chretien and Martin started in 1990 and still on.
Parrish edged Mahoney with 2,157 votes against 1,925 and the fight was very
tense and personal on Sunday, March 7. However, the most politically
controversial was the Saturday nomination in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek won
by Valeri with a margin of little more than 300 votes. It was a cliffhanger
the whole day. At 11:45 p.m. on Saturday night and Transport Minister Tony
Valeri, who was tired and tense, told The Hill Times that "if the results
will bemade public after midnight, a victory will be the best gift I can
give to my wife for her birthday."
The new political boss of Hamilton got his wish 10 minutes before midnight.
The room was full of tension. All the TV cameras flocked around Copps while
Valeri's corner looked almost empty. That's when the president of the new
riding association announced 10 minutes before midnight that "the candidate
in the next federal election is going to be Tony Valeri."
It was at the end of an excruciating day which started at noon and finished
at midnight. Camera operators and journalists, mobbing Copps' corner, were
convinced that she would be the winner, and scrambled to move to the
winner's side. It was a squeaker, with only 311 votes more for Valeri on a
total of 5,313 (there were 20 spoiled ballots). The repercussions on the
future of the Liberal Party and the city of Hamilton, will be felt for a
long time.
"I don't know who is going to win, however, I can tell you who is going to
lose: the Liberal Party," one Liberal MP told The Hill Times on Saturday at
the nomination meeting. In fact, the comments that I collected during the
long afternoon, from both sides of the battle, were comments against the
party and comments the lack of organization. People had to wait up to three
hours to vote and lineups were more than 100 meters long. Everyone was
frustrated.
Liberal Party President Michael Eizenga was seen late in the afternoon and
looked like he was a head of state touring a village hit by an earthquake
area.Copps complained that 400 of her members were not transferred from the
old part of the riding to the new one. One of the voters turned away was
Warren Kinsella who told The Hill Times: "If they resort to those tactics,
definitely they are scared."
Valeri did not dispute Copps' complaint. In fact, he was complaining too
about the lack of organization: "We received some of the lists only
yesterday or this morning. We prepared a backup copy of 600 memberships we
expected to be challenged because of the lateness of the central party in
transferring the new members, but our demand was turned out by the
representatives of the party."
Valeri dismissed any claims of favouritism, despite the fact that he's a
Martin favourite: "Had they only done things properly, we would not be here
now wondering who the winner is going to be." Valeri did not elaborate,
however, he said he believes that the people appointed to run the show on
voting day were all people "close to Sheila."
There is no doubt that the Minister of Transportation was concerned. In the
middle of the afternoon, at least looking at the people in the lineup
outside the voting room, the support for Copps was definitely more
consistent. By 5 p.m. some of Valeri's supporters started to concede defeat,
and some organizers were very concerned. But one told The Hill Times not to
be "fooled by that, Sheila's support is only more visible."
There is no doubt that Copps' camp was much more organized and their
presence was impressive. "They were coming in groups of eight to 10 for the
whole afternoon, while Tony's were more fragmented; two or three at the
time," a scrutineer told The Hill Times.
Meanwhile, Copps was all over the place, greeting the people arriving at the
Cardinal Newman HighSchool, while her organizers were catering them with
drinks and pastries. "I feel very confident," Copps told journalists
stressing that her attention is mainly on a "fair process.
Around 5 p.m. things started to change and Valeri's support start to inch up
consistently. "This is not a coincidence," Valeri told The Hill Times. "Our
strategy was to avoid our supporters to endure long lineups and ask them to
show up after 4 or 5 p.m."
They had to wait regardless and the closing time was extended twice. The
doors were closed at 9:30 p.m., but the voting procedures lasted almost up
to 10 p.m.
According to some of Valeri's organizers, Copps' camp had hundreds of people
in the lineup who couldn't vote, but were there to create a victory
environment around the former deputy Prime Minister "and clog up the
system." Those suggestions were rebuked by Copps' camp.
However, the show of strength by Copps supporters in the mid afternoon might
have backfired. Valeri's camp got scared and worked the phones harder to
pull the supporters out of their homes and into the voting room. Monitoring
the process for the whole afternoon, it can be safely assumed that Valeri
won the nomination from 5 p.m. on. The extension of the closing time might
have helped Valeri more than Copps.
There is no doubt that Sheila Copps must be praised for the big and
effective effort she put into the race. Most of the support she was able to
collect came from minority groups, with the exception of the Italian
Canadian community, who heavily supported Tony Valeri.
The minister of Transportation, however, had on his side unions, medium and
small business people and, it seemed, the entire Hamilton establishment.
After so many years, Sheila Copps had lost her magic on the steel city, a
magic that was kept alive more by the perception of the power she
represented, than by the feeling she was able to establish with the city.
Once the power switched sides, most of the support from the establishment
shifted with it. Hamilton Mayor Larry Di Ianni told The Hill Times.
"Hamilton cannot afford to lose a powerful minister."
Of course, the fact that she was living in Ottawa did not help her to stay
in touch with the new reality of the city. Once the power eluded her, there
was basically nothing she could hold on to. In fact, some rekindled the
tense relationship that Copps had with the previous political Liberal boss
of Hamilton, the late John Munro. Even today, there are still some who
believe he did not receive the support he was looking for at the time he
needed it the most.
The only group that responded to her call for help were minority groups.
They were solidly behind her, but it was not enough because the group upon
which she based her political strength, the Italian, was solid behind Tony
Valeri. Despite all that, she put on a strong performance that now adds a
lot to her skills, her determination and her passion.
Also it should be a stiff warning to Prime Minister Paul Martin and his
people: minorities cannot be taken for granted any longer.
A few minutes past midnight, Sheila Copps emerged from the splendour of a
powerful and glittery political life, as a modern Cinderella. She left the
high school auditorium on the verge of tears. She exited from a left door,
Tony Valerie from the opposite side. There was no shaking hands and no
concession speech. The divorce from the Liberal Party was consumed in
silence. But the consequences will be felt for a long time.
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