More than ambition drives leadership hopefuls
Across the divide of digital detachment, Liberals hope to divine a winner, while the rest of us struggle to take some meaningful measure of the men who would be Nova Scotia's next premier.
Liberals want, first and foremost, a leader to carry the party to a third successive electoral win and, depending on who you ask, Iain Rankin, Labi Kousoulis or Randy Delorey is that guy. (Liberals have recovered from the initial shock and come to terms with the lingering disappointment that there is no woman in their leadership race.)
Other Nova Scotians are sizing up a future premier, fairly secure in the knowledge that if the Liberals get it wrong, it won't be long before the general electorate can correct the error. The smart money says Nova Scotians will go to polls either this spring or fall, depending on where the virus blows.
Those who are watching the Liberal leadership race have been rewarded with platitudes and promises, lots and lots of promises. Promises to invest, stimulate, build, lift, and create. Promises to protect, expand, encourage, transform and innovate.
The candidates credit the provincial government they've each been part of for seven years with making head way, particularly on the fiscal front, but the lengthy to-do lists they've all released suggest it hasn't done enough.
Each campaign has erected a considerable platform and each of those platforms offers insight into the direction the candidate would take the province. But, political platforms are constructed of individual planks, promised action and transactions. What about the big picture?
Why do these guys want to be premier? How would they want history to record their time in office?
Last week, in casual — albeit brief — conversations with each candidate, I put those questions and was pleasantly surprised by candid, thoughtful responses where I expected talking points.
Iain Rankin, who at 37 is the youngest in the field, believes it's time for a generational change in political leadership.
From the outset of the race, he's emphasized two issues where the baby boomers have tragically blown it (my conclusion, not his) namely, protecting the environment and advancing social and economic justice.
His environmental plans seem to have struck a cord with Liberals, because the other two candidates followed with environmental policy of their own that largely mirrors Rankin's. Whether that's merely a matter of timing or the age-old political art of pilfering ideas from opponents, is up to Liberals to decide.
Economic issues in general, and the survival of small businesses in particular, have been central themes for Labi Kousoulis, but it was instructive to learn that he views economic growth not as a goal in itself, but as a means to a better end.
Small businesses, says Kousoulis, are at the solid core of the strong, healthy communities Nova Scotians need to thrive. And, economic growth is the source of revenue the government needs to fulfill the promises he, and his leadership opponents, are making in health, education, and almost every other area of provincial interest.
Randy Delorey talks about the value of public service, his own experience and the need to reengage Liberals, given “this is first a race to select a leader of the Liberal Party.” But he soon moves past the script to what really motivates him.
“I've got a young family and older, retired parents in Nova Scotia,” he said.
For Delorey, the future of the province is personal, as it is for most of us. Thinking about his kids gives him what he calls a line of sight to the future, while concern for his parents helps create an essential connection to those who came before.
None of this is earth-shattering, or even groundbreaking, stuff. But it does offer a fleeting look into what makes these guys run.
As for how history might remember them as premier, all three talked about a more economically inclusive and socially just Nova Scotia.
Addressing and correcting the inequities and disadvantages that continue to plague too many Nova Scotians, particularly in minority and racialized communities, is long past due, and has become Liberal Party orthodoxy, although the how-to remains hazy.
A leadership race is rough sledding at the best of times. Running one under COVID restrictions must be a virtual torture test.
We can, and do, bemoan the lack of gender or other diversity in this field — Kousoulis, the son of Greek immigrants, adds some — but we also need to recognize, and appreciate, those who step up and put it on the line for jobs like this.
That these three guys seem to be driven by more than personal ambition is a bonus.