A municipal election in Paris, one of Toronto’s strongest competitors for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, could affect Paris’ chances.
Paris Mayor Jean Tiberi, president of the Paris bid team, came third in the first round of elections on Sunday. And according to recent polls, Tiberi, a conservative who is running as an independent after being turfed out by his own party, is about to be defeated by a socialist.
According to TO-2008 Chief Operating Officer Bob Richards, political stability is important.
In 1990, the pro-Olympics Ontario Liberal government of David Peterson was defeated by the NDP just before the International Olympic Committee voted down Toronto’s bid for the 1996 Games.
