The Stel Salaried
Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission
to post the following article by Reporter Andrew Dreschel published in the
April 26, 2004 edition
|
Apr. 26, 2004. 12:48 AM |
|
Keyes won't admit Christopherson's
a threat in Hamilton East |
|
By Andrew Dreschel |
|
It took veteran Liberal MP Stan Keyes a good 15 minutes before he managed to get his legs under him and control his uncharacteristic nervousness as he made his pitch to The Spectator's editorial board. Before that, he was all but breaking out in a cold sweat. He looked tense, spoke haltingly and seemed clutched up, uncomfortable with the very message he had come to deliver. Even Keyes was surprised by his anxiety. "Geez, I'm nervous," he said at one point. "I haven't been nervous in front of a reporter in a long time." Perhaps that's because the meeting the other day marked the first time he had sat down with a body of The Spec's opinion writers since being elevated to Minister of Revenue and Minister of Sport in the Paul Martin government. There's a lot more riding on what he says now than when he was just a local MP. He's a king-size fish in a king-size pond. If he messes up, he's got more to lose and further to fall, particularly with an election hovering in the background that promises to test his staying power like never before. Keyes had come to talk about Stelco and how the federal government can't directly get involved in saving the steel giant until the restructuring process under court-supervised protection has run its course. He said Ottawa has to be sensitive to the process. It must carefully monitor the situation, but cannot take a place at the table with other stakeholders during restructuring talks. Even after he loosened up, it was a defensive message delivered in a self-justifying tone by a politician normally more inclined to striding self-confidence than stumbling uncertainty. Maybe he was just having a bad day. Or maybe he's hearing footsteps in the shadows. The only time he seemed truly at ease during the hour-long session was when the subject switched to his sports portfolio. When talk turned to the election in the winds, he grew sharper, more assured, as if back on familiar ground. Keyes, of course, is running in the new riding of Hamilton Centre because his current riding of Hamilton West will disappear due to electoral boundary redistribution. The new riding, comprising parts of the old ridings of Hamilton West and Hamilton East, is home turf and proven powerbase to former New Democrat MPP and mayoral candidate David Christopherson, who is carrying the banner there for the federal NDP. The Conservative candidate is Leon O'Connor. But early interest is in the coming battle between Keyes and Christopherson, a former provincial cabinet minister whose strongest support during his failed mayoral bid was in Wards 1 to 4. Those make up a large part of Hamilton Centre. By any definition, Christopherson is a formidable opponent, but Keyes refuses to acknowledge his candidacy as a threat. "Depends on your definition of a really strong candidate," he scoffed. "I can't put too much credibility in the poll." The poll he's referring to is a recent survey of decided voters conducted for the NDP, which suggested Christopherson can easily defeat Keyes. The sampling size was small -- 230 voters -- and the margin of error substantial -- it is considered accurate 19 out of 20 times, plus or minus 6.4 percentage points. Odd thing is, it was Keyes who raised it as a talking point only to dismiss its credibility. Doth he protest too much? Keyes also laughingly dismissed rumours that he's had a falling out with Craig Dowhaniuk, the chair of his campaign team and former president of his old riding association. Keyes says Dowhaniuk is still his best friend and co-chair of his campaign, along with Keyes' wife, Cathy. "It's great because he challenges me and I challenge him and we have great debates." The next time they put their noggins together, maybe they'll talk about how uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, especially a new one. Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com and 905-526-3495. |