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Sept. 11 - Sept. 18, 2011 |
Dalton McGuinty gets ready for battle
Provincial Liberals gear up for Premier Ernie Eves' "surprise" election this fall
By Angelo Persichilli
Originally Published: 2002-07-21
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Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty
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Tandem recently met Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty at his Queen's Park office, shortly before Ontario's legislature was recalled from its summer recess to deal with Toronto's garbage crisis caused by striking municipal outside workers. There was a constant coming and going of assistants, advisors and MPPs, shifting from a meeting to the next.
As leader of the opposition party that desperately wants to return to power, McGuinty is preparing to face the attack of the right, led by new Conservative Premier Ernie Eves, which apparently wants to occupy a central political position. McGuinty is reconsidering the return of the left and may abandon the "strategic voting" concept of 1999. That concept helped the Liberals grow and brought NDP to the brink of destruction, but did not stop former Premier Mike Harris from confirming his cabinet.
This time, McGuinty wants to play his cards right.
Mr. McGuinty, despite the summer recess of Parliament, I notice the frantic activity of your party. Will this go on all summer?
"I am preparing for the next campaign, talking about a lot of ideas that we have put out there and listening to the concerns of Ontarians. For example, they are concerned about the increase of the rates for seniors in long term facilities. It is 15 per cent, $220 a month. That's unacceptable."
New premier, new policies?
"I've never seen a politician running so fast away from his own record. Eves wants to convince us that he was never part of the Mike Harris government. The fact is that he was Mike Harris' right hand man. He was Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. Furthermore he personally delivered six budgets. And the cuts delivered with those budgets have caused the pains that Ontarians are experiencing when it comes to public education and quality health care."
What's wrong with changing position and recognizing that maybe he was wrong before?
"The electorate is smart and informed. They have access to 15 million websites, all kinds of newspapers and a variety of media, and they know the difference between the real McCoy and a cheap imitation. I have always stood for better schools, more doctors and hospital beds and clean water through my entire leadership. I stood for those things also when they were not popular. In contrast Ernie Eves is experiencing some kind of epiphany. People know whether it is a matter of principles or political convenience. People know what to choose."
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