Buying Political Leadership

In only moments of extreme boredom and near delusion have I ever consider running for a legislative or parliamentary seat. I lack the intelligence for double-speak, the patience to listen to endless to self-serving speeches or the willingness to compromise my values for the greater good (as defined by someone else). I have never in my darkest moments even thought about being a party leader. I cannot imagine, other than a boundless quest for power, why anyone would want to lead a political party in Canada or anywhere else. However, clearly people do aspire to such positions and in the case of those who have or are about to declare their candidacy for head of the Conservative Party of Canada, it can be an expensive process.

The press has reported that within two months, all individuals who have decided to run must submit a   registration fee of $200,000 (non- refundable), plus another $100,000 (refundable). They must also have had 3000 signatures of endorsement from party members. It might be worthwhile to note that according to Statistics Canada the median income for Canadian families in 2017 was  $84,950 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/465739/median-annual-family-income-in-canada-since-1990/). In other words - to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, the candidates must raise three and half times the median income for a year of a Canadian family just to "toss their hat into the ring". To be fair, the candidates are not allowed to use their own money - this registration must come from donations. It suggests that all of the candidates must have a lot of friends and contacts who have pretty deep pockets. Clearly, a condition of being a candidate is that the individual has the capacity to be an effective fundraiser.

I find it deeply disturbing that any political party can raise the entrance bar so high, that no matter how committed, bright, caring and competent an individual may be, no matter how extraordinary their life experiences may be, there would be no way for that individual to ever become the leader of that political party. Given the requirements for candidacy, it is almost inconceivable that an outsider will enter the race. All who run will be well known, at least to the party elite, and all will have significant and deep connections to specific communities. The Conservative Party may argue that it speaks for the common man/woman, but clearly, the leadership is drawn from a very limited group of people who have nothing in common with most Canadians. On the plus side, by limiting who can run, the Conservative Party has clearly indicated who and what they stand for. I suppose it is sometimes useful to have a party that believes in enhancing some people's lives while ignoring others, that believes that we should trust big business to know what is good for all of us. It is useful because it is so much easier to fight against the enemy when you know who they are.

I believe that being a member in either a provincial legislature or the federal parliament is an honourable profession, one that if it is done with conscience and complete dedication to the community and the country can do much to ensure everyone's life is enhanced and improved.  I suspect that many, if not most people who run do so with the best of intentions. It is unfortunate that so many seem to get waylaid by the constant demands to respond to the politically influential or rich or at least to those with the loudest voices and the deepest pockets.