George Abbott, The Man To Watch

Monday, January 24, 2011 03:45 AM

The net is tightening on the Liberal leadership as the date for the vote of the party nears.

While Kevin Falcon and Christy Clark may, at this point, be considered as front runners, don’t place any bets on either quite yet.

Behind the scenes, George Abbott has been making quiet moves.

He is the man who had no problem in standing up to Gordon Campbell and the rest of the Cabinet knows that.

Falcon is Gordon Campbell’s man. If Campbell were to throw his support behind any candidate it would be Falcon, who has been referred to as Campbell’s, "Mini- me". Even with the support of the likes of Pat Bell and Shirley Bond, he may have a problem shaking that Campbell clone image.

Christy Clark came out of the gate like a seasoned downhill racer, but in spite of the support from many of the lower mainland media, she peaked and then began to fall back.

She has been viewed in the rural reaches of this province as an opportunist; she also is saddled with the BC Rail issue that isn’t going away.

Falcon on the other hand is viewed as the man who supports his friends.

When you lead the province, you can have no friends and the greater good of the province must be first and foremost. Falcon seems to have a problem understanding that.

So the man who has quietly gone about trying to win second vote support and in so doing taking the leadership race, George Abbott, leads the pack.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Monday, January 24, 2011 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: BillTieleman on January 24 2011 6:52 AM

Ben - you are right - it's down to Abbott & Falcon now. Clark still has just one lonely, minor BC Liberal MLA (Harry Bloy) supporting her after weeks of campaigning. You just can' t become Premier without major caucus support. De Jong & Stilwell are without even a single MLA on their side, suggesting an endorsement & exit is in the offing. Watch for more on this later Monday on my blog: http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Andyfreeze on January 24 2011 7:05 AM

I agree...Abbott does seem to be the man to beat...right now.
Clark IS an opportunist,and B.C.knows that.
deJong is seen as not being all that bright, and he continues to show that with his silly "I am the good guy" speeches and high 5's for everyone.
Falcon is not only disliked by the public,he isn't very well liked in cabinet either, from what I am hearing.
Obviously he knows that,and it sort of makes you wonder what it is really all about behind the scenes?
Who is Falcon really in this for?
As well,it will be a huge mistake if in fact, Bond and Bell throw their support behind him, considering his unpopularity.
Makes you wonder about Bond and Bell.
What's in it for them to align themselves with someone so unpopular?
Falcon will NOT win the leadership race.
Unfortunately for Abbott,he is seen as a slash and burn kind of guy, considering his very unpopular stint as health minister,and I doubt he can win the trust that he needs to pull it off.
All of them are seen as the Campbell old guard and because of that,they fighting an uphill battle.