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Speak Up

Progressive Conservative candidates David Alward and Bruce Fitch are absolutely correct; the PC leadership race should see some meaningful debates to help party members choose the right leader for their party in October.

Alward, the Woodstock MLA, Fitch, the Riverview MLA, and Robert MacLeod, former PC party president, have throw their names into the ring to lead the New Brunswick PC Party. But how can Conservatives make the correct choice on their future leader if they cannot hear candidates debate issues?

In the five all-candidate forums scheduled for September, the PC party has elected to use the same format as their 1997 leadership. The candidates will address the audience and answer questions from the floor, but the party has apparently shied away from allowing the leadership hopefuls to debate each other on the issues.

That's the wrong move. While the PCs are choosing their party leader they are also choosing the leader of the official opposition, and perhaps a future premier of New Brunswick. Any individual seeking this position needs to be a good debater. It is an important skill that will show party members how the candidate will perform in the New Brunswick legislature, in a media scrum or on the national stage. Selecting a candidate that cannot get his point across in the heat of a leadership debate would be a disservice to the Conservative Party and all New Brunswick residents. We need a well-spoken leader of the opposition that can ask insightful questions and offer viable alternatives to the Liberal agenda.

In this age of You Tube and 24-hour news, the spoken word is still a powerful tool. American Democrats are formally selecting Barack Obama as their presidential candidate this week, a man that used his powerful oration to capture the hearts and minds of many jaded Americans. New Brunswick PCs should use similar tools, including vigorous debates, to select their future leader.