Peter MacKay and Stephen Harper made a deal in October, today MacKay announces he can not afford to participate in contest.
Catch 22 for Tories
Ottawa, Ontario - Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - by: Brad Thomson
	Peter MacKay campaigned for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada by stating clearly he would not merge his Party with the Alliance, even signing an agreement to that effect with rival candidate David Orchard in order to secure his victory.
	Two weeks after being elected he initiated a process of secret negotiations with the Alliance Party. In early autumn, word leaked out. A month after that he and Alliance leader Stephen Harper tabled an Agreement in Principle merging the two parties.
	What followed was a process that succeeded in circumventing the will of long time Progressive Conservatives by flooding in tens of thousands of new members who joined for the sole purpose of abolishing the Party that created Canada.
	Throughout the process those loyal to its moderate policies fought for the survival of their Party. They lost, and with the increasing probability of Stephen Harper becoming the Leader of the merged party, they and hundreds of thousands of other Progressive Conservatives supporters have only unpalatable choices . . . vote for the newest incarnation of the Reform/Alliance, Liberal or NDP.
	The focus of political activity in 2003, other than the coronation of Paul Martin, was the uniting of the political far right in the Conservative Party of Canada, a party seen by many as the Republican Party North.
	The focus in 2004 will be its defeat in the upcoming general election and the rebirth of a "progressive" conservative party the moderate majority of the Canadian electorate can consider as an acceptable alternative to the Liberals.
	Brad Thomson
	Mr. Thomson is the former Secretary of the Ottawa South Progressive Conservative Association
References:
	CBC, Ottawa, MacKay says 'tough calls' cost him, won't run for Conservative leadership, January 13, 2004, CBC News
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