OTTAWA - Pop superstar Bono is expected to be a marquee attraction at the Liberal party's convention next week, adding glitter to what has been so far a lacklustre leadership race.

The U2 frontman is expected to make a guest speech at an evening party where Liberals will celebrate the coronation of Paul Martin as the federal party leader.

The Irish rocker was 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.

A Martin campaign source who did not want to be identified said Bono was expected to appear, and that he would speak to the thousands of Liberal delegates.

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

The Grammy-winning singer has met with Jean Chrétien, the outgoing Prime Minister, and Mr. Martin in the past.

Bono has talked extensively with Mr. Martin about a cause they share: relieving Third World debt. In 2000, the Irish rocker was brimming with praise for the then-finance minister'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."

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 Mr. Chrétien, who is just four years Mr. Martin's senior.

In contrast, the outgoing Mr. Chrétien will have 1950s crooner Paul Anka and jazz legends Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones performing at his going-away party.

http://canada.com/national/story.as...ED-3CCDB9933B56

haha i may go to this.

John Lennon & Trudeau were good buddies too.

Well I doubt Martin and Bono are "good buddies", well whatever.

I know Bono was involved with the "Rid of Debt" campaign and other political movements, but the article doesn't mention ANYTHING about why Bono would support Martin. Really, just cuz he's in the Liberal party? Blah, doubtful.

Jon

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quote:

Originally posted by halo20 John Lennon & Trudeau were good buddies too. Well I doubt Martin and Bono are "good buddies", well whatever. I know Bono was involved with the "Rid of Debt" campaign and other political movements, but the article doesn't mention ANYTHING about why Bono would support Martin. Really, just cuz he's in the Liberal party? Blah, doubtful. Jon

He will be speaking on the AIDS crisis in Africa. Bono has publicly led a campaign to help the faltering continent.

Canada's recent efforts to make generic AIDS drugs available to African countries helped persuade the Irish singer to attend the event, Martin's spokesman, Scott Reid, told The Globe.

Bono and Martin also share a common interest in relieving Third World debt. During a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 2000, Bono praised Martin's efforts on debt relief.

"He found it to be 'nuts', I think was his word, that we are still debating the issue of debt cancellation," Bono said of Martin, who was then finance minister.

"So I was grateful for him for that, and for sticking his neck out and getting in trouble with all the rest of the big shots here, because, you know, he has taken a moral position."



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