Sanctus – Cllr. Ethan Ringrose of Sanctus City Council has today thrown his hat into the ring to succeed Charlene Hendry as Leader of the Democratic Left Party. Ringrose previously represented his party in this year’s presidential election, narrowly losing out to Katherine Saunders of the SCP. He announced he had received the required backing of two state leadership councils.
Ringrose’s candidacy was expected, and has already been mentioned as a frontrunner by commentators and senior figures within the DLP. It’s understood that his nomination and campaign earlier this year to be President of Sanctaria, despite his limited experience, was to further his national image and to make him a household name for an eventual tilt at the party leadership and, hopefully, the Chancellery.
In his late 40s, Ringrose is very active on social media and his successful city council campaigns appealed to young people through his focus on housing, education, and social justice. Though a moderate in the party, Ringrose has been shown to work with the more socialist members of the party on Sanctus City Council, particularly when advancing motions to support working class areas of the city, and those below the poverty line.
With Homeland Security Secretary Kathryn Stewart also rumoured to be considering her candidacy, with an announcement on a decision expected next week, there could well be two representatives, at least, of that wing of the party in the fight to replace Hendry as DLP leader, herself a cemented moderate. With the demographics of the party getting younger and more left, it remains to be seen whether there is appetite in the party to continue with yet another centrist leader.
GWEN COPLEY, Political Correspondent