http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=6F7C11A9-1601-4BFC-BE5B-78BDDAD0A5F1United right eyes Harris for leader
Alliance, Tories near deal to create new party
Sean Gordon
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, September 26, 2003
CREDIT: Ted Rhodes, CanWest News Service (Calgary Herald)
Mike Harris last night addressed speculation that he would pursue the leadership of a united right. Speaking in Banff, he said: "I don't think we should be getting ahead of ourselves but I for one would be prepared to make a contribution and then we'll have to see where it goes."
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Emissaries from the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives have reached an agreement in principle to found a new party, and it now appears a movement is afoot to install former Ontario premier Mike Harris as leader.
Organizers from the federal and Ontario Conservative parties confirmed that Harris supporters have been quietly laying the groundwork for a run at leading a united right once a deal is reached to dissolve the Alliance and Tories and found a new party.
And that agreement may now be at hand. In Ottawa, Alliance leader Stephen Harper said he expects to receive a compromise proposal from his representatives and the Tory emissaries "before the end of the week."
"My understanding is there is an agreement in principle, it's a matter of our representatives coming to finalizing that effort," he said. "I'll make a decision shortly after I get the final conclusions of the discussions ... to get an agreement both sides eventually have to make their decisions to sign off, and I don't know what the Tory timeline is on that."
Conservative leader Peter MacKay struck a far less strident tone than on Wednesday, when he blasted the Alliance for purportedly leaking details of the negotiations to the press
"I can tell you the emissaries are doing great work ... I'm confident in the emissary process, I'm confident in the people I have representing me at that table, and we're going to take a very strong and serious look at this," he said.
Mr. Harper doesn't anticipate any further talks, and suggested a meeting scheduled for next week between the emissaries -- former federal finance minister Don Mazankowski, ex-Ontario premier Bill Davis, and Conservative MP Loyola Hearn for the Tories, ex-Reform MP Ray Speaker, Senator Gerry St-Germain and MP Scott Reid for the Alliance -- will simply formalize the agreement.
"I don't think the public wants an endless soap opera, there's been some good discussions over the three months, I think most of the issues have been thoroughly addressed," he said.
Mr. Harper said. "It's time for the parties to make their positions known and take their decisions," Mr. Harper said.
If the two parties are able to reach an agreement, it will first be presented to their respective caucuses, then submitted to the general membership.
Mr. Harper said it would then take three or four weeks "to get some details out to them and get some mechanism whereby they can send back their support or opposition".
It's then hoped a new leader could be in place either late this year or early in 2004.
But before any of that happens, Mr. MacKay has to get his caucus on side.
"Are people nervous about it? Are they concerned? By all means, this is their livelihood ... clearly I'm going to need caucus support for this. And so this is a (multi-tier) process that's got to be in place before we're going to be able to proceed," Mr. MacKay said.
While both leaders are preoccupied with stickhandling a deal, the buzz surrounding a Harris candidacy is intensifying.
The former Ontario premier was in Ottawa on Wednesday night, and, after