For bob rae, undeclared leadership intentions 'not exactly unique'situation - Form Traveller

OTTAWA Bob Rae doesn't believe his dancing around the questionof whether he intends to run for permanent leadership of theLiberal Party has kept others from throwing their hats in the ring. "People are always going to be figuring, 'If this person runs,am I going to run?'" Rae told reporters on Parliament Hill onWednesday. "That's not exactly new or unique to our situationtoday." The comments come a day after one potential leadership contender,lawyer David Bertschi, said he is waiting for the party's executiveto meet next week before deciding whether to launch a bid. Among the items to be discussed by board members on June 13 is ifRae will be allowed to stand for the permanent leadership afterserving more than a year as interim leader. "I think it's important that, before you jump into something,that you know the rules, you know the players and what's best forthe party," the CBC quoted Bertschi as saying following aspeech at the Economic Club of Canada on Tuesday. Double Girder Overhead Cranes

Bertschi, who ran for the Liberals and lost against theConservatives' incumbent in Ottawa-Orleans in the last federalelection, is among a number of potential contenders, includingformer astronaut Marc Garneau and Ottawa-South MP David McGuinty. However, no one has yet confirmed his or her intention to run forthe position. Rae, who described Bertschi as "a great guy," maintainedthere is no rush for potential candidates to declare theirintention to run, as the actual vote won't be held until sometimebetween March and June 2013. "There's lots of time to make that decision for mostcandidates because they'll be thinking about it through the summerand into the fall," he said. If Rae is allowed to run, he will face intense pressure to stepdown as interim leader to ensure he doesn't get an unfairadvantage. Form Traveller

He promised Wednesday that if the executive allows him to stand forthe permanent leadership, he will come clean on his intentionsbefore Parliament breaks for the summer. In accepting the interim leadership following the Liberals'third-place showing in last year's federal election, Rae agreed toa stipulation laid out by the board that he would not run for thepermanent leadership. The board, which has a number of new members, including partypresident Mike Crawley, is currently in the process of establishinga committee to determine the rules and guidelines for theleadership race. Crawley has already been on record as saying Rae shouldn't beprevented from taking a crack at the permanent leadership, aposition that most expect to be confirmed by the board next month,and it's nearly impossible to find anyone in Ottawa who believesRae will be prevented from running or that he won't enter therace. Electric Hoists Winches Manufacturer

Rae, who says he enjoys serving as interim Liberal leader, said hehas made a point of telling Crawley that he does not want to bepart of the board's leadership discussions. "I respect the independence of the executive," he said."I'm not going to express a thought." Twitter.com/leeberthiaume.