Ontario's most pugnacious politician has pummeled his way to deputy premier, but

don't place any bets he's the next premier.

Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty promoted Health Minister George Smitherman, who treats all opposition questions about government policies as personal insults, over half a dozen aspirants he acknowledged are thirsting to replace him when he retires.

But while the title suggests it is a steppingstone to the top job, deputy premiers have a poor record of becoming premier and only one out of the past seven made it.

Premiers also have appointed deputy premiers for a variety of reasons and not necessarily because they considered them best equipped to lead their parties one day.

Progressive Conservative premier William Davis named the first in the 1970s to save his own job.

Davis had won only minority governments in two successive elections and some in his party were grumbling he would never regain a majority and suggesting he should be replaced by the ambitious, younger treasurer, Darcy McKeough.

Davis took momentum out of the insurrection by saying he was staying and, as a signal, appointing another minister, Bob Welch, who had lost his leadership ambitions, as his deputy premier and nominal second-in-command. McKeough took the hint and left for a surer career in business.

Frank Miller, who briefly succeeded Davis, named Bette Stephenson, a longtime minister and former president of the Canadian Medical Association, as deputy premier, trying to show his party cared about women and recognize her special abilities.

Stephenson had not run to succeed Davis, but compared well with the men who did, and some Conservatives were disappointed their party did not appear ready even to consider a woman leader and it still has not chosen one.

Liberal premier David Peterson appointed Bob Nixon as deputy premier, recognizing that he had led their party in three elections in lean years in opposition and was admired for it, but Nixon was older and had given up ambitions to be premier.

New Democrat premier Bob Rae made Floyd Laughren deputy premier, respected and steady, but older than Rae and never likely to succeed him.

Conservative premier Mike Harris appointed Ernie Eves, a close friend and strong performer in the legislature, as deputy premier, but Eves left for private business and Harris replaced him with Jim Flaherty, who shared his ultra-right views.

When Harris retired, Eves returned and won a race for leader and premier, while Flaherty lost and eventually switched to federal politics and became Stephen Harper's finance minister.

Eves made Elizabeth Witmer his deputy premier, mainly because she supported him after being forced out of their race for leader and premier, and she now is a deputy leader in opposition - all of which makes Eves the only deputy premier to go on to be premier.

McGuinty resisted appointing a deputy for three years and it does not seem a coincidence he has named one when an election is less than a year away.

One advantage is that with an official stand-in at the legislature, he will have more freedom to travel drumming up votes. Opposition parties complain when a premier is away often and unable to answer questions.

McGuinty chose Smitherman after months of testing other ministers, including Greg Sorbara in finance, Dwight Duncan in energy, Gerry Phillips in government services, Leona Dombrowsky in agriculture and Smitherman, who took turns standing in for him in the legislature. He may have felt some other ministers had too much on their plates.

None failed dismally, but Smitherman was particularly informed and aggressive in defending Liberal policies and recalling weaknesses of Conservative governments under Harris and Eves.

McGuinty also does not relish confrontations and will deploy Smitherman to fight his opponents in the ally while he tries to appear on a higher road above the fray.

This creates another obstacle for Smitherman, because a reputation as first and foremost a hatchet-man is not much help for anyone who wants to be premier.