U2 singer Bono to attend next week’s Liberal leadership convention
TORONTO (AFP) – U2 singer Bono will voice his views on helping Third World nations with generic drugs and debt relief next week at the Liberal Party convention, where a new leader — virtually certain to be Paul Martin — will be elected.
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“Paul Martin asked Bono whether he would come to speak at the convention about these issues (access for poorer nations to generic drugs for AIDS and debt relief) and he agreed to do that,” a senior Martin advisor, Richard Mahoney, told CBC Newsworld Wednesday.
“It will hopefully provide some interesting discussions,” he added, noting that they spoke a couple of weeks ago about attending the Toronto event.
In 2000, the Grammy award-winning singer praised Martin’s efforts to ease the burden of debt of poorer nations.
Former finance minister Martin, who has nearly crushed all challengers except one longshot, will take over as Liberal leader at the party convention November 14.
Speculation is mounting that Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who will relinquish the Liberal Party title to Martin, could bring forward his announced retirement in February as prime minister.
Mahoney said Bono’s speech would help “set the tone for the convention that evening.
“Mr. Martin will be speaking later on in the evening to focus the convention … on some of the kind of issues M. Martin would like to focus on, including his own view of restoring Canada’s place in terms of debate in the world,” the advisor said.
Asked if Bono will sing at the convention, Mahoney said he’s likely only to speak, but hinted “I’m sure we’ll try to throw a spare CD on” for theme music.
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