Ladies And Gentlemen, I Give You...

Interesting, the revelation in today's paper that the NDP caucus back when, in 2003, they were in the process of selecting a successor to the indefatigable Ed Broadbent, bypassed Bill Blaikie, so obviously the right man for succession - because Ed Broadbent himself bypassed Blaikie and instead chose Jack Layton. And because Broadbent made his choice, the caucus had little option but to follow his lead, however reluctantly.

Now he has pulled elder-rank yet again, stood foursquare on his reputation as NDP living icon, and very publicly endorsed Brian Topp, a man who has never run for public office, but skilled at the political game. And who impishly retorted when a reporter pointed out to him that not having ever been an elected political figure, it might be problematical for him to lead the party, with the observation that Quebec has a way of coughing up such Brians.

It's an unassailable argument on the surface, given Brian Mulroney's whopping and successive Conservative governments. Sans previous political experience. Running on greasy self-confidence and Irish blarney, and the invaluable contacts he'd cleverly burnished through his corporate contacts. Will the public learn to detest Topp as much as they did Mulroney?

Brian Topp evidently boasts similar distinctions; his contacts being mostly in the political back-room sphere. And his CV is interesting, as executive director of ACTRA Toronto, a unionist with a theatrical twist. And, typical somehow of those battling for the underdogs in society, board member of a venture capitalist company worth billions, ROI Funds.

It seems always that the privileged, those coasting along in the upper echelons of society and finances, put themselves front and center as champions of the disadvantaged. Now, other aspirants to the NDP leadership will feel disadvantaged at Ed Broadbent's interventionist move: like crowning an heir apparent.

As the next prime minister of Canada.