Backbench government MPs should have the right to vote for their own cabinet , former Liberal cabinet minister Belinda Stronach says.
In a wide-ranging report which Ms. Stronach expects to disseminate across the party, she says the party needs a grassroots rejuvenation if it wants to resonate with Canadians in the West and Quebec, as well as in the rest of the country.
The proposal comes at a crucial time for the Liberal party. As Gloria Galloway reports in today's Globe: Tories sense coming of Harper-led majority .
Ms. Stronach's report also calls on the party to drop membership fees to $1 per individual, adopt a one-person, one-vote system for selecting the leader and substantially streamline the party structure.
The controversial MP, who crossed the floor of the Commons to join the Liberals after running against Stephen Harper for the Conservative party's leadership, pondered the idea of running for the Liberal leadership after Paul Martin stepped down. But she decided instead to focus on rebuilding the Liberals.
Will her ideas work? Can the party reform itself in time for the next election?
Ms. Stronach was on-line earlier today to take your questions on her ideas, the Liberal party, and federal politics in general. The questions and answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Ms. Stronach is the former president and CEO of Magna International Inc., one of the largest global suppliers of automotive systems and components in the world with 82,000 employees in 22 countries. Under her corporate leadership, Magna International had record sales and profits in each year and its stock price nearly doubled in value.
She first entered public life in 2004 and has been elected by twice as a Member of Parliament. She is now chair of the national caucus of women Liberal MPs.
In 2004, Time Magazine ranked Ms. Stronach as one of the world's 100 most influential. In 2005, the Women's Executive acclaimed her as a "trailblazer" and one of Canada's Top 100 most powerful women.
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Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Welcome, Ms. Stronach, and thanks for joining us today to take questions from the readers of globeandmail.com Let's start with the big picture. As Gloria Galloway reports in today's Globe, Conservatives may still have some gripes about Stephen Harper's leadership style but they generally feel he's done such a good job as prime minister that he could easily lead them to a majority government in the next election. Do you agree with that assessment? Either way, what do you think are the three things the Liberals need to do most to renew the party and present a credible alternative in the next election?
Belinda Stronach: Thanks, Jim. I'm pleased to be here.
I'll make a brief comment in regard to your question about the job that Stephen Harper has done to date. Stephen Harper's leadership style has failed on a number of fronts — the Kelowna and Kyoto accords, for example; the lack of funding or strategy for post-secondary education; and even in terms of delivering on his five priorities, which are hardly visionary. In addition, recent events in the Middle East show that circumstances develop which call for true leadership — leadership which has been lacking. Many Canadians also share my concern about a lack of a national competitiveness strategy, which is needed to safeguard our quality of life and keep jobs here in Canada. Bottom line: He's putting in jeopardy our future prosperity for short-term politics.
In response to your other question, I wish to state the Liberals are a strong and credible alternative. You asked about the three things the Liberals need to do to renew the party. Obviously, the grassroots growth of the party is, in my view, the most important. I'm proposing that we build a million-member party that will be much more democratic and that will engage the grassroots in policy development and fundraising. These two issues — policy development and fundraising — are the two other issues that I believe we need to focus on in order to renew the party. But both policy development and fundraising can be strengthened by focusing on the first issue — namely, strengthening our party's grassroots and building a much more robust and democratic party.
