"The party is going into the repair shop for a while ... to get a new leader"

Vote NDP just this once, Layton urges Liberal voters

James Gordon

The Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

TORONTO -- Federal NDP leader Jack Layton put a new twist on attempts to siphon votes from his opponents Monday, begging disaffected Liberals to "lend" him their votes while their own party "regenerates."

"Vote for us just this once, in this election, so there is a strong voice in the next Parliament that is standing up for the priorities progressive people believe in," he told a group of students at a Toronto community college.

Layton added the Liberals will be "going into the repair shop for a while" to work on their ethical issues, and will thus be thinking more about themselves than voters' priorities.

While the New Democrat insisted he wouldn't predict the outcome of the election, his tone and message appeared to suggest the NDP now believes in the strong possibility Conservative leader Stephen Harper will be the next prime minister of Canada.

Asked if this was the case, however, Layton retreated to his prepared press lines.

He also employed the strategy when asked to clarify whether "going into the repair shop" was code for a Liberal leadership change, and pressed to elaborate on his vote-lending strategy.

Speculation has been rampant over Prime Minister Paul Martin's future if he loses the Jan. 23 vote, with media and pundits already lining up his successors. Former deputy prime minister John Manley, Canadian ambassador to Washington Frank McKenna and Toronto star candidate Michael Ignatieff have been mentioned among the front-runners.

Layton and his wife, fellow Toronto candidate Olivia Chow, laughed when it was suggested the vote-lending proposal was tantamount to asking people to hold their noses and vote NDP this time.

"We're saying, 'Here's and opportunity for you.' This election,'" Layton said. "Hey look, the first step is always the most important."

The NDP hopes the strategy will sway voters in Greater Toronto, a long-time Liberal fortress. Ex-city councillor Chow is currently in the midst of another tight battle in her riding of Trinity-Spadina -- a riding she has lost twice before.

The offensive coincided with the release of a new television ad featuring what the NDP calls "former Liberals who are choosing Jack Layton" this time.

When he was finished with the Grits, Layton moved on to wooing Red Tories uncomfortable with Stephen Harper at the helm.

Playing on Harper's negative views on same-sex marriage and government-run social programs, Layton suggested the word "progressive" was dropped from the Conservative name for a reason.

"If you voted in the past for prudent, step-by-step progress, there is nothing of that in Stephen Harper's party today," he said.

Layton wrapped up the day courting the youth vote with a visit to the Toronto studios of MuchMusic.

Dressed down for the occasion (he wasn't wearing a tie), Layton chatted about standard NDP priorities like education and the environment before hoping on an exercise bike at the request of Much On Demand co-host Leah Miller.

Earlier, the mustachioed politician was presented with an orange T-shirt bearing a cartoon version of his face and the slogan, "Don't Trash the 'Stache."

© The Vancouver Sun 2006