WANTED: Motivated individual to head a cash-strapped organization recently left for dead in the ballot box. No pay or benefits. Thick skin is essential. Political problems, donor backlash and negative media exposure are all guaranteed. Possible Senate appointment if successful applicant returns power to the party. Apply to the Liberal Party of Canada.
The search is on for the next president of the federal Liberals, the once-invincible Natural Governing Party reduced to a humbled ruin of 34 seats in last May's election.
Incredibly, two masochists, er, loyalists are formally entering the race and another two are flirting with the notion of leading this daunting resurrection project. Insiders expect six will eventually fight for the title, which will be decided in mid-January.
This is no figurehead appointment. While the job is voluntary and usually out of the spotlight, the next president will have a crucial role in pulling the party back from the parliamentary abyss.
He or she needs to attract thousands of new members to a party with an ailing fundraising operation, decimated staffing and severed connections to most of its grassroots constituencies.
More importantly, the next president will frame the search for a true Grit leader with the right stuff to reinvent the disgraced party.
Which is a long way of getting around to Sheila Copps.
The feisty former deputy prime minister during Jean Chretien's glory years is reportedly preparing a serious bid for the party presidency.
Somebody make her stop. Please.
The LAST thing the Liberals need are controversial figures from its past to become the fresh face of its future. It would send the signal that old war horses are riding to the rescue in a frantic apocalyptic gallop.
That's not to say Ms. Copps lacks the experience and political insight to be a decent Liberal president. It's just that the optics of this 1980s Rat Packer supervising the revival would tourniquet any hope of injecting fresh blood into the party.
Defeated MPs such as Mark Holland and Siobhan Coady are allegedly pondering a run for the top and they represent better options.
But all are still a blast from the past and that warps the message that this party needs a complete makeover that goes far beyond merely cosmetic.
(A riding president named Ron Hartling is already in the race. He's interesting because he single-handedly revived the party's fortunes in Kingston, Ont., but he's largely unknown outside the riding.)
The bottom line is that younger Canadians and ethnic groups need to link with disgruntled party supporters to believe the energized Liberals are an attractive governing option. A former MP as president might not be the best sign of a rebranded party.
Even more troubling is that some party heavyweights think they've seen a shortcut on the road back to power.
As tragic as it is for Jack Layton and the NDP, the cancers taking a hard toll on this party-defining leader are good news for the Liberals. Some believe their time in the political woodshed might be one four-year term instead of at least eight years if Layton has to quit for health reasons.
But staying the course, calling in old names and hoping the misfortunes of others expedite a Liberal rebound is not the answer.
A dynamic party president working with interim leader Bob Rae to radically redesign the party is the only way for Liberals to eventually reclaim natural governing rights.
Then the successful party president can claim a job well done – and wait for a Senate appointment.
Follow Don Martin On Twitter @DonMartinCTV
Don Martin hosts Power Play on CTV News Channel, highlighting the people and players that dominate the political scene in Canada.
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