Political Staples

Who would have thought that I would agree with Lloyd Axworthy but in this case I do.

A Liberal heavyweight from Manitoba is urging the federal Liberal party to lean to the left when choosing the party's next leader.

Former Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy hopes the party will settle on someone who is "progressive."

"Particularly with the Harper government coming into place, I think really representing a liberal approach is going to be the best service we can provide to the country, and also, I think it's the best pathway back to government," he told CBC News Friday.

"I think there've been too many pretend Liberals over the years, and I think this is a chance to refresh ourselves."

How many Blue Grit failures do there have to be (you know - Turner, Martin) before the Liberal Party realizes that this is not the path to go down? Now, it can be said that Chretien employed the Blue Grit approach (campaign left and govern right) but with a united right those days are over. Let it also be said that shifting to the left is not without risk since the NDP is trying to move from socialist left to the mushy centre-left. Further, moving left leaves the centre to the Conservatives - where majorities are won.

But I favour a battle of ideas and Canada would be a better place if the Liberals, ya know, got some.