With apologies to William Shakespeare - and Brutus - ambition is a good thing. It's what fuels risk taking and adventure. Ambition is the first step towards change; without it we'd still be living in caves.
Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon is ambitious. One could say overly ambitious, Whatever. He's not one to be held back.
On Feb. 26, members of the provincial Liberal Party will elect a new leader and for British Columbia, a new premier.
Will Kevin Falcon be British Columbia's next premier? Will he be sworn in as our 35th premier, joining a unique club ranging from the truly gifted to a gaggle of one-term political oddities?
If the measure of ambition is any indicator, Kevin Falcon has as good a chance as anyone at this point.
Citizen readers will note Falcon was in town on Monday, cutting ribbons, opening the Northland Dodge Pediatric Ward, announcing a travel and lodging subsidy for the parents of children being treated at B.C. Children's Hospital and in general pressing the flesh.
Was Falcon's Prince George trip a precursor to a leadership run announcement? Let's just say the timing was fortuitous. Plus, it's pretty hard for any health minister to ignore a $1-million private-sector contribution to our hospital, and not tie its recognition in with a funding policy that benefits non-Lower Mainland families.
No doubt about it, Falcon is a producer. He had a successful career prior to entering politics in 2001. As the former minister of transportation, his record of highway improvements is remarkable. Over the 10-year term of the Liberal government transportation and highways has been one of the few ministries to regularly show an annual increase.
But, will he run and can he win? More importantly, if he wins can he steer the Liberals away from impending disaster or is Kevin Falcon taking over the helm of a political Titanic?
I think he'll run, and at this point he's probably on the inside track to winning the leadership. Kevin Falcon is an aggressive campaigner; plus, his two significant portfolios, highways and health have given him a solid working knowledge of rural British Columbia. He has more energy than any of the other potential cabinet candidates and he is also the most political. New Democrats will no doubt remember Falcon picking up on the Bill Lynch inspired "Have you had enough?" anti-NDP rallies held prior to the 2001 provincial election.
All of which leads us to the elephant in the Liberal room, the HST. Currently, an initiative vote is scheduled for Sept. 2011. The results of that vote will go to the legislative assembly by way of a Bill.
However, HST critics, including the NDP, want the HST issue settled sooner than later. Given the favourable economic benefits of a harmonized sales tax - particularly for the resource industries - letting the question spin in the wind until September doesn't seem to make much sense to anyone, except of course the current premier.
Even if the vote were held in September, the results would still go to the legislature for approval. A legislative debate this spring would be the best way to get the HST debate on the official record, as well as pinning down the NDP and its position on economic development and investment.
On Feb. 26, Gordon Campbell will be gone. The issue for the Liberal Party will be winning the next election. It will take an ambitious politician to lead the party through the coming session and the two-year run up to the 2013 election.
The real test for the Liberals is not the HST, or recall, it's the New Democratic Party.
The next leader of the Liberal Party has to be ambitious, energetic, solidly in touch with rural British Columbia and able to win the 2013 general election. To date the only potential candidate fitting that bill is Kevin Falcon.
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In politics, follow the money.
Michael Ignatieff and his federal Liberals are currently close to Stephen Harper's Tories in popularity polling. All this may change with Harper's recent musings on withdrawing Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. One factor that won't change though is the financial fortunes of the Conservatives and the Liberals.
A recent report from Elections Canada shows that year to date the Conservative Party has raised $12.1 million. The Liberals aren't faring so well, reporting $4.4 million in political contributions this year, down $3 million from last year.
Is it time for Ignatieff to go? I would suggest that's what the tight wallets are saying.
