Positioning for the Papacy

I wish I had the time to do some serious research into how outspoken cardinals had been in the closing months of Pope John Paul II's life. These thoughts come following my previously-mentioned hope that Cardinal Pell (from Australia) would not secure the top job - and this was based on his outspokenness about various issues. Of course, I disagreed with his views on just about everything - and he has been outspoken about a lot of things. It then occurred that maybe he had been outspoken because it would ensure he was noticed - not just by standard folk like you and I - but by his fellow Cardinals (and they are all fellows) who would be the ones attending the Conclave and casting their votes (in whatever form that might have taken). Not outside the bounds of possibility - it's behaviour encouraged of politicians and others running for (public) office. But, as the world now knows (which is a generalisation but will suffice) the new Pope Benedict XVI was previously Germany's Joseph Ratzinger. (Is it only the Pope aka Pontiff who is allowed to pontificate?)