Hat in the Ring

On Monday night I held a modest reception to launch my bid for a seat in the Legislature of Prince Edward Island.

(Yours isn't the only jaw that dropped when you heard that, so don't feel bad.)

I'll be running for the nomination as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Charlottetown - Brighton.  If I win the nomination I will run in the next general election against an opponent who is the current Leader of the Opposition.  Political boundary realignment in the past year means this seat does not currently have an incumbent, although my opponent may claim a sort of incumbency since he currently represents a portion of the riding.

It occurs to me that some folks reading this will have, at best, a hazy concept of the Canadian Parliamentary System and will be thrown by some of the terms.  Since my degree is in Political Science, perhaps I can make some sense of our system for those people and finally justify the thousands of dollars and literally dozens of hours I spent in pursuit of my Higher Edumacation.

The Canadian system of government is modelled after the British Parliamentary System.  Like the American system, there are political parties.  But in the Canadian system, the party which wins the most seats in the election gets to select the Leader.  Federally, that leader is the Prime Minister.  On a provincial level (which is the level at which I will be running), the leader is the Premier of the Province.  (Think "Governor", except with less independent executive power).

I will be running for the Progressive Conservative Party .  Since "conservative" has come to have certain connotations - many of them negative - in today's political climate, it's important to know that in terms of this province, the political philosophy of the Progressive Conservative Party is plonked down directly in the middle of the political spectrum of thought, and perhaps even a touch to the left of middle, especially compared to, say, the Republican party in the U.S. 

The PC Party of Prince Edward Island has been in power since 1996.  It is the longest running government in Island history, largely because its philosophy and leadership really has reflected the wishes of most Islanders. 

(That, by the way, is not political hackery - it's unarguable, demonstrable.  The PC Party held 23 of 27 seats in the last election, leaving 4 seats for the Liberal Party, the official Opposition.  That, by the way, was a huge leap forward for the Opposition.  The election before, they came away with 1 seat.  For my American friends, imagine one party taking 80 seats in the U.S. Senate.  I think it could be said that party's platform might be reflective of the wishes of the electorate.)

But each election, we start fresh.  This time, Premier Pat Binns will be taking a run at an unprecedented fourth term.  Given an approval rating in the 60 percent range, it would be foolhardy to bet against him.  It won't be easy - elections seldom are.  But when two-thirds of the electorate think things are pretty damn good, I wouldn't want to be the one trying to convince them it's time for a change. 

Now, to the challenge facing me:  I first have to win my party's nomination, never an automatic thing.  Nominations are our equivalent of primaries - they're contested within the membership of the party itself, and a win gives the nominee the right to carry the party colours into the General Election.  And - in the riding I am contesting - that means facing off against the Leader of the Opposition.

I chose this battle.  In this Province, there is no residency requirement other than you live in Prince Edward Island.  It's not at all uncommon for members to live outside the district they represent.  I could have run against any opponent I wished.

I picked the Big Dawg. 

My Dad, who is a very smart man, used to say "Always square off against the toughest opponent you can find.  You don't learn anything from fighting with someone weaker than yourself - it just makes you a bully.  And you get no respect from anybody for picking an easy fight.  Fight the biggest kid on the block, and win or lose, people have to give you your due."

When I tell people who know Island politics where I am running, the standard reaction is "Umm ... well ... that's interesting."  Loosely translated, that's:  "Well, good luck with that.  When will we be able to view your remains?"

That's OK.  I don't need them to believe I will win.  I don't need you to believe I will win.  I believe I will win.

This effectively means the end of one career and the beginning of another.  I've enjoyed touring and will miss some aspects of it.  But this is something I've wanted to do since I was a kid, and this feels like the time to do it.

I gotta say - I'm as excited as I've been in years.

Comments

[Sandy]

Wow...congratulations! If you're excited, then I'm excited for you and I hope that you win..win it all!

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

But...if you throw your hat in the ring, what will you use to cover your lap when the Queen is on TV?

(Oh, and huzzah to you!)

[William]

Your father's words are true. Take the big dawg down. I am excited for you.

[Lala]

Good for you. This is an exciting step and a great way to get more blog traffic(just kidding).

[Susie]

you GO boy. very exciting :)

[candace]

Congratulations, Nils! How exciting!

[Brikwall]

Ghiz is a wuss...if you wanted to run against the "big dawg" you would have offered in Stratford for a showdown against Cyn!

Oh...btw...I would have put 5-2 odds on Cyn. One kick in the gonads with those new red boots of hers and you'd be down for the count!

[Alan]

I congratulate you on everything but your choice of party. But if you can help clean that bunch up I suppose it is worthwhile, too.

[Jim Fogg]

Didn't see that coming! Then again, why would I? Good luck, public service is very noble. I thought about running for something and then I realized I've had a little too much fun..

So Mr Fogg..did you ever inhale...um I never exhaled

[sara sue]

Congratulations Nils! PEI will be a better place for it - if that's possible.

[Effie]

Yer a Tory?

That's all I have to say about that...

(but congrats anyways)

[wordgirl]

Awesome! Just...really...awesome. Glad you supplied the descriptions of parties, etc. Here in the US of A, the term "conservative" is never ever linked with the word "progressive", because that would indicate that they...uh...actually think about progress and change with the times. And nothing could be further from the truth. I wish you nothing but success.

[CircusKelli]

Wow! VERY cool! I'm impressed and excited for you! Good luck... with whatever political type thing it is that you're running for -- honestly, once you started spewing "Progressive Conservative blah blah blah riding blah blah Canadian Parliamentary System blah..." I skimmed down to "Big Dawg." You're Dad is right. You just go out there and give it your all.

[Ortizzle]

I believe. And I shall drink a toast to your new career in politics just as soon as it's not breakfast time anymore.

Now... will this curtail your blogging? (time constraints aside) You'll have to set yourself up with your own election web page.

[platypus]

You know I think you'll make the perfect politician - good luck!! :)

[Tam]

This could very well make PEI politics much more interesting. Best of luck to you, I look forward to following the battle!

[shari]

So, I suppose you're not going to let me vote in this election, are you?! *sigh* Always with the citizenship rules...

Best wishes to you on your new endeavor!!

[whfropera]

I'm thinking along the same lines as Ortizzle...then again, I've known about this for awhile, and you are the quite pragmatic fellow...so...

[kalki]

So does this mean we'll have to stop talking dirty on this blog? And, on a related note, will you need an intern?

[Squirl]

Wow, how cool! Good luck! :-)

[Weiner]

Not even got the nomination yet, and you are sounding ever so political with all the above rhetoric. I see you mention the Liberals came up three seats over the previous election where they were left with only one. You did however neglect to mention that the Conservatives were also left with only one seat held by Ms. Mella prior to that election.
You also failed to mention that when you didn't get a nibble from the Liberal party when you cast your hook and showed interest in running for them that it was only then you decided to run for "your party."
You also failed to mention that while the poll that has our Premier sitting at 60% popularity is the same poll that has 40% undecided. A small oversight I am sure.
And just in case you didn't know it already, the big blue Conservative machine has already hand picked a candidate of their choice and you will be the token "also ran". But hey, who likes corinations?
So while you are enjoying all the pats on the back and the congratulations, bear in mind that you have two strikes against you already - 1) you don't live in the district even if it isn't mandatory and 2) yer from away.
Ever think of running as an independent? That is usually what folks do that have no loyalty to either party.

[Jim Fogg]

Ain't running for political office fun? So in honour of Oscar Meyer above, maybe we can put our collective creative heads together to develop some catchy election slogans on behalf of Nils.

[wordgirl]

Oh dear! Mr. Weiner sound like a real...um...weiner. I hear there's no cure for it...other than some mustard and relish.

[Alan]

Actually, PEI is essentially governed and led by come from aways so I can't understand Mr. Whiner's point.

[wordgirl]

Also...I don't know if anyone likes a "corination"...but millions turned out for Elizabeth's COROnation...not like I was around for it you understand. When you show up with the intention of pointing out the oversights/mistakes of another person, it's always in one's best interests to appear as intelligent as possible in the process. Spelling is always a good start. I'm just saying.

[Jean]

Nils...good for you for giving it a try. Enjoy the ride. Your Liberal buddy wishes you luck, but not too much!

[Cyn]

Good luck Nils.

[Ortizzle]

*corInation*

*snigger*

On another note... you can prove anything with statistics. Or disprove anything. I'm pretty sure you must be in the 99 percentile for pats on the back and congratulations.

[Wayne]

Hey, Congrats, Nils. Makes me think about getting involved and supporting someone. Trouble is, including yourself, there are quite a few good people running, for both sides.
Break a leg, and don't forget to make golf a priority if life gets busy!

[Nils Ling]

Folks, while I appreciate the good wishes - and even the barbs - I think I'm going to move the political stuff to its own discrete site. There, people can take the inevitable runs at me (I have a thick enough skin for that) and we can all banter, joust, and snipe (doesn't that sound like a law firm?) and not get the politics mixed up with the personal.

That's the danger, of course - people whose enthusiasm for the jostle and repartee clouds their ability to see people who go into politics for what they almost always are - people who believe they can make a difference to the quality of life for their children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbours and who have the courage to stand up and be counted.

Jean and Cyn are examples of the kind of quality people I'm talking about. I don't necessarily agree with all their political views - although we're not at opposite ends of the spectrum. But I know both to be honest, sincere, and warm human beings.

So, at the risk of being accused of cutting off debate, I'm going to close off comments for the time being and - when I return from England (I'm here on a brief tour) I'll create my own little political blog where anyone - Tory or not, brave enough to identify themselves or not - can jump right in.