Premier nowhere on Games radar: pollster

A pollster is accusing Premier Rodney MacDonald and Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly of a lack of leadership in trying to win the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Don Mills, president of Halifax-based Corporate Research Associates, suggested Wednesdaythe premier of Newfoundland and Labrador would do a better job of rallying support for the bid.

"If this was Newfoundland, what do you think Danny Williams would be doing about the Commonwealth Games? He would be cheering us on," Mills, chairof the group Bring on the Games,told the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

"Where is our premier on this? He's nowhere. He's waffling."

The mayor of Halifax is not providing the direction needed to win the bid for the international sporting event either, Mills said.

He described opposition to the Games as small and vocal, and called local media coverage "overwhelmingly negative."

The cost of hosting the Games is rumoured to top $1 billion, leading some people to question whether Halifax and the province can afford it. Several municipal councillors have threatened to withdraw their support.

MacDonald has said he supports the bid but is unwilling to break the bank in order to host the event.

The federal government has committed $400 million should Halifax win the bid, and both MacDonald and Kellyhave promised tolobbyOttawa to spend more.

The head of the Halifax bid committee, Scott Logan,is urging people to wait until the numbers are released this spring before making up their minds about the Games, and says the event could transform the city.

Halifax is competing against Glasgow, Scotland, and Abuja, Nigeria, to host the 2014 event. The final bid submissions must be in by May and the international Games committee will announce the winner in November.