Look who's coming to dinner!

Results of a survey of BC federal candidates finds a wide-ranging choice for dinner partner and topic of conversation

by Kevin Potvin <kpotvin@republic-news.org>

So, you've been invited to dinner by an average British Columbian candidate for federal office. It's going to be quite an exciting, and possibly fractious, dinner!

In a survey of all main party BC candidates for the upcoming federal election, hopefuls were asked by The Republic, which international political leader they would most like to have over for dinner.

If popularity of choices determines the seating arrangement, then at the head table, and to your immediate right, you would find the ever-smiling Dalai Lama. And climbing into the chair to your left you would happily find Nelson Mandela. Hey, Nelson, pass the salt, the Lama's got fries!

Also joining you at this head table would be Sonja Ghandi, Tony Blair, and Bill Clinton. Toward the ends of the table would crowd in Jochan Fischer, Germany's foreign affairs minister, and none other than Cuba's Fidel Castro! Do not, repeat, Do Not! tinkle your glass for a speech! Yo, Bill, how do you like the burger?

Luminaries from the international stage who would sit at the second table, the B list as far as BC federal candidates are concerned, would be such diverse conversational partners as Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner, and Osama bin Laden, terrorist extraordinaire; Condaleezza Rice, the American National Security Advisor, and Aung Sun Kyi, dissident Burmese leader and nobel prize laureate; and, just to see if their talking again yet, Vladimir Putin, opposite Vaclav Havel. Did I overhear something about a speech to the UN by Osama?

Passing the bread basket from hand to hand would be George Bush to Kim Il Jong II, who would push it over to Jimmy Carter, who in turn would place it before Pat Cox, president of the European Parliament. This table is going to need a lot of attention to get that kind of ice broken! Which one of you hasn't met Osama yet?

What might come up as popular subjects of dinner conversation around tables filled by BC federal candidates and their selected international guests? Candidates were asked which nation, besides Canada, concerns them the most. Africa, though it's not a nation, topped the list by a wide margin. But of secondary concern to this hall is America.

Other topics sure to get tongues wagging would be Iraq, Tibet, and Afghanistan. When those topics become exhausted, of more minor concern would be issues found in places like China, North Korea, Sudan, Israel, and Haiti.

When it comes time to put politics aside and talk about the arts instead, there is less chance among BC federal candidates to find common ground. When asked what non-fiction book most caught their attention in the past year, Stupid White Men, by Michael Moore, came up more often than any other book, but then all other books mentioned only came up once. McLean's and The Economist squeaked out ahead in a crowded field of choices of most-read periodicals (excluding newspapers).

Much the same result was revealed when candidates were asked what play, movie, or fine art work stood out for them the most. But The Corporation, an entertaining documentary about capitalism, is likely your safest bet if you're looking for nods of recognition around your table.

The questions are as follows: 1. In the last year, what non-fiction book have you read that stands out the most for you?; 2. What periodicals (aside from newspapers) have you been reading regularly this year?; 3. What work of art (movie, novel, play, visual art, etc.) moved you the most in the last year?; 4. What non-Canadian political leader would you most like to have over for dinner?; and 5. What nation's plight (excluding Canada's) concerns you the most?

These survey results capture the feelings of about one third of BC's 144 main party candidates for federal office in balloting scheduled for June 28. All with email addresses (two candidates in BC did not have known email addresses) were invited to participate, and all were given plenty of time and three email reminders. Green Party candidates proved the most eager to share with readers of The Republic their answers to the questions, with 53% of their slate responding. One third of Liberal and slightly less than one third of NDP candidates took the time. Just two BC Conservative candidates for federal election, or 5%, chose to respond.

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