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2003 Liberal Leadership "Race": Martin wants Bono for convention

G

ganjavih

Guest
Martin wants Bono for convention but still hasn't found what he's looking for

ALEXANDER PANETTA

OTTAWA (CP) - The Liberals want to add a little glitter to an otherwise lacklustre leadership convention by inviting Bono - one of the biggest rock stars in the world - to attend.

The lead singer for U2 is being sought as a potential guest speaker at next week's convention in Toronto on the night that Paul Martin would become the federal party leader. The Irish rocker is being wooed by the Martin campaign in an attempt to spice up the victory celebration his organizers expect to hold a week from Friday.

Bono's appearance would add star power to an event that is seen as such a foregone conclusion that the Liberal party has had trouble attracting delegates to attend.

Martin organizers are skittish about scaring off their prized catch - so skittish they can hardly be prodded to confirm his appearance, deny it, talk about it, or even speculate out loud.

One top Martin aide cut off any reference to Bono: "I am not commenting in any respect. I've got nothing to say and I'm not giving an answer."

Another source close to the Martin campaign was slightly more forthcoming: "We've put out feelers," said that source.

The prospect of Bono - he of the trademark bug's eye sunglasses - at a partisan political event in Toronto is not as implausible as it sounds.

The Grammy-winning singer has met with Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Martin in the past.

The U2 singer has talked extensively with Martin about a common cause they share: relieving Third World debt.

In 2000, the Irish rocker was brimming with praise for then-finance minister Martin's zeal for easing the burden of debt on poorer countries.

Dressed in a black leather jacket and wearing his trademark wraparound black spectacles - monogrammed with golden Bs - Bono described his meeting with Martin.

"He (Martin) struck me as more than a money man actually, he had some vision about it," Bono told reporters at the time.

"Canada doesn't have the size of debt that some of the other major players have, but for that reason, I think it has a chance to speak out and to take the moral high ground on this issue and we're really grateful to Paul Martin for that."

One Liberal insider was marginally more vocal in his belief the U2 frontman will attend.

"It's very hush-hush," said the Liberal official, who added that the last he'd heard, Bono would be speaking to the thousands of Liberal delegates on Friday night.

In addition to spurring interest in a drama-free convention, a Bono appearance would hammer home a message that Martin organizers have been trying to convey for months.

They want to portray the arrival of the 65-year-old prime minister-in-waiting as a changing of the generational guard from the retiring Chretien, who is just four years Martin's senior.

What better way to make that point than inviting a contemporary pop icon to party with Martin and the gang?

In contrast, the outgoing Chretien will have 1950s crooner Paul Anka and jazz legends Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones performing at his going-away party.
 
Guest speaker? Screw that! Make it a full blown concert. The playlist:

Beautiful Day (Chretien's gone!)
Still Haven't Found...(a way to increase the surplus)
Better than the real thing (Sheila!)
Mysterious ways (delegate selection)
All I want is you (as head of the party)

:rollin

_1191677_u2_150.jpg
 
Liberals get impressive warm-up act

Liberals get impressive warm-up act


By CAMPBELL CLARK AND STEPHANIE NOLEN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

Ottawa, Johannesburg — Rock superstar Bono will take the stage at the Liberal Party convention that will crown Paul Martin, lending his celebrity to the event and gaining a platform to speak about the AIDS crisis in Africa.

The appearance by the legendary U2 singer will provide unprecedented star power for a Canadian political event, and will also allow Bono an opportunity to tie Canada's next prime minister to commitments on African development issues near to the singer's heart.

The biggest opening act any Canadian politician has ever been able to muster is expected to provide a quantum leap in drawing power for the Nov. 14 convention, which lost all suspense after Mr. Martin crushed all challengers.

The two men have maintained a relationship since working together on debt relief for the developing world when Mr. Martin was finance minister. Canada's recent move toward legislation that will help generic companies sell cheaper AIDS drugs to African countries helped convince the Irish singer to accept Mr. Martin's invitation, said Scott Reid, a spokesman for Mr. Martin.

He said Mr. Martin is “thrilled that Bono will lend his celebrity not just to the evening but to these important issues.

“Obviously, his interest is not a partisan one. He will be there to speak on issues of international development,†Mr. Reid said.

The Grammy-winning singer has talked extensively in the past with Mr. Martin about a common cause they share: relieving Third World debt.

In 2000, the Irish rocker was brimming with praise for Mr. Martin's zeal for easing the burden of debt on poorer countries.

“He [Mr. Martin] struck me as more than a money man, actually; he had some vision about it,†Bono said at the time.

“Canada doesn't have the size of debt that some of the other major players have, but for that reason, I think it has a chance to speak out and to take the moral high ground on this issue, and we're really grateful to Paul Martin for that.â€

Bono will take time off from completing an album with U2 to make the rare appearance at a partisan political event. The singer will not introduce or endorse Mr. Martin, but will speak for about 15 minutes on the same night Mr. Martin delivers his acceptance speech.

“It is unusual for Bono to do something like this, but it is not unusual for him to do the right thing and take advantage of an opportunity to push these issues,†said Jamie Drummond, the executive director of DATA, the advocacy group on African issues co-founded by Bono.

“I think we're just seeing it from the point of view of being able to leverage on an issue that we think is an emergency.â€

In the past several years, Bono has increasingly waded into the political field, and has proved shrewd at combining his celebrity status with powerful political allies of all stripes.

He has courted Republican heavyweights in the United States, including Newt Gingrich (whom he reportedly reduced to tears when he described the devastation caused by AIDS in southern Africa). And he leaned on French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to increase contributions to the Global Fund to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Bono's appearance at the Liberal event will provide glamour at a leadership convention where the race has been over since Mr. Martin won almost 90 per cent of delegates in September. Mr. Martin's camp hoped to use the convention as the kickoff to the change of government, and convey a feeling of change and excitement.

Bono rarely attends partisan events, but DATA carefully considered the invitation, which offered an opportunity to speak directly to influential Canadians. And Bono will be looking for Canada to respond.

The rock star plans to underline Canada's move to change patent laws to allow generic companies to sell cheaper AIDS drugs to African countries as an opportunity for the world to help address the emergency, Mr. Drummond said in an interview from Washington.

Advocates such as Bono's DATA - which stands for Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa - see the move as a key step by an industrialized country to providing an adequate supply of quality, affordable AIDS drugs to the 30 million people in Africa who have HIV/AIDS.

The legislation, to be tabled Thursday, is unlikely to be passed this fall, as Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is set to prorogue Parliament before the Liberal convention. But Mr. Martin has committed to passing the legislation when he takes power.

“That's an issue that [Bono] and Mr. Martin have spoken of in the past, and it's an issue that Mr. Martin is committed to,†Mr. Reid said.

Mr. Drummond said that Bono will also use the convention to call for Mr. Martin to follow the lead of Mr. Chirac and boost Canada's contribution to the Global Fund.

Canada has now committed $100-million over four years, or about $25-million a year. “It needs to be more in the range of $75-million to $80-million,†Mr. Drummond said.

Bono will also call for the Group of Eight to make African development initiatives a central part of its focus, and for Canada to take a lead role in making that happen.

Bono has been one of the world's biggest rock stars for the better part of 20 years, the lead singer of Irish rock band U2, which has sold more than 100 million records and maintained critical acclaim. His public persona has moved from idealistic New Waver through gold lamé suits and dark glasses, but his activism has increased.

With a report from Canadian Press
 
Maybe Bono will record an album with Martin?
After all, Natalie Cole recorded "Unforgettable" with her father Nat King Cole, and he had been dead for ages too.
 
The industrialist billionaire not quite owner of Canada Steam Ship Lines- that lefty friend of the banks- Paul Martin certainly has the finanical capacity to bring Bono in.

The NDP followers on this forum are, no doubt, justly outraged.
 
u2bootlegger,

I may have extra tickets to the Liberal Celebration at the Air Canada Centre next week.

E-mail me at futuremayor@hotmail.com, and I can provide you with more details when they become available.

Louroz
 

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