Robert Chisholm Withdraws

I believe Robert Chrisholm made the right decision in withdrawing from the leadership race. While Chrisholm has experience leading the Nova Scotia NDP that would definitely be beneficial when it comes to leading the party his lack of French was a major handicap that he admits he would not overcome by March 24th.

Being fluent in French is an essential qualification for the leader of the official opposition. While it may have been acceptable for the NDP to pick someone who was not completely fluent as the leader in the past when it was the third party this is not they can afford now – especially when over half of the party’s seats are in Quebec. While it is possible that Chrisholm could be bilingual by the time the 2015 election roles around this is not really a risk we as a party can take at this time.
The ability to speak French is one of the key areas I am struggling with when it comes to whether to give Paul Dewar the #1 spot on my ballot. I’ll admit my French isn’t very good, but from what I can hear when he’s speaking, and from what others have told me I’m not convinced he is fluent enough in French right now. However he does seem to be functional in it – and I’m sure he’ll be very good by the time the 2015 election roles around. However I’m still not completely convinced that he knows enough to serve as leader of the official opposition with a sizeable Quebec caucus yet. It sounds like his French has improved since the beginning of the race, so perhaps he’ll be able to show to me by March 24th that he’s ready.