Climbing aboard the good ship Liberal

The next federal election may not be called until April, but they're starting to scramble for tickets on the good ship Liberal for it's journey to the next Parliament.

While Jack Layton woos red Tories, spurned Liberals and anyone else he can find. And as Belinda, Steve and Tony wander down the nomination trail, the Liberals are quietly taking their "star" candidates out for a test drive.

Jeffrey Simpson reveals in today's Globe and Mail, that former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, is all but finalized as a candidate in the next election. As long as he can find an appropriate seat. And that may be easier said than done, for it seems that none of the incumbents, nor wishful thinkers in New Brunswick, are willing to give up what is assumed to be a sure bet election this time around.

Expect the party fixers to find someone willing to step aside, providing McKenna with a relatively easy fight for the voters affection. For many Liberals, this upcoming election is all about positioning, should McKenna join up with his old friend Paul Martin in Ottawa, he would automatically become the front runner to replace him. The age old tradition of alternating between a francophone and anglophone may cause him some trouble, but it's something that he can probably overcome. As a consensus choice, McKenna could fit both categories, having been premier of a bilingual province and able to speak French fluently. His arrival, would signal to many other Liberals that perhaps the private sector would be more rewarding career path. Brian Tobin, Alan Rock and John Manley may want to explore other options and forget about politics, should McKenna take the leap.

But first he has to find a seat and as Simpson explains in his article, that may be problematic. The last thing that Martin needs is more nasty infighting over nominations. Expect this problem to be taken care of long before it gets to the point of being an embarrassing situation.

With expectations of a big Liberal majority come election day, look for Paul Martin to have more high profile Liberals decide to try out life in Ottawa. Like a new model on the car lot, there are going to be a lot of test drivers out on the roads in the next few weeks.