How Will History Treat Mr. Dion?
Yesterday Stephane Dion became the first Liberal Leader since Edward Blake not to become Prime Minister. I’ve been saying for almost two years, throughout all the internal sniping, questioning and succession planning that we as Liberals were duty bound to see our leader through to the top job, not just to return Canada to the sound management Liberal governments are known for, but to retain our place as Canada’s governing party. Dion’s resignation demonstrates that the Liberal Party armour and the sense of inevitability is now gone.
As it became clear to me that the Liberal Party would have real problems delivering a victory to Dion (I did purposely phrase it this way), I waited for the knives to come out, and stayed loyal to the end.
Stephane Dion is both a principled and brilliant man. The hatred for him in Quebec has nothing to do with his personality, weak English skills or appearance; it is based on his ability to go toe to toe with supporters of Quebec independence and stand firm on behalf of Canada.
He is a man who ran on issues and ideas that mattered. He is a man who broadened the tent of the Liberal Party by accepting the Leader and President of the Progressive Canadians (the approximately 10% of anti merger Progressive Conservatives), making room for us to work cooperatively with the Green Party and his final act, laying the ground work for a united or at least more coherent left.
He took the helm of the Liberal Party when it was on it’s knees, unable to fund raise, struggling to learn the ropes of being the opposition and getting over the shell shock of defeat. I was in Montreal when we selected Dion. I supported Kennedy on the first two ballots and like many younger, more progressive members of our party, when given the choice between Rae, Ignatieff or Dion, I rewarded good behaviour and voted for Dion over two candidates who many felt were irresponsible for being so divisive with each other.
Stephane Dion had not been my first choice, or even my second, but after casting my first two ballots for Kennedy, I cast my last two for him, all the while thinking about the importance of party unity, experience and a hope that he could shake things up. There was a lot of hope that he would shift politics in Canada for the better. The post convention bounce in the polls is what led the Conservatives to trash him and frankly commit the worst character assassination committed on any politician in our nation’s history.
I hope History will look back at Dion and see a man of integrity, a man of courage and principle who was up against an unprecedented bully. I hope he is not thought of as a failure, but a victim. Someone who got the most unfair, unexpected treatment any political leader in Canada has seen and ultimately succumbed to those wounds, resigning the leadership for the sake of the Party.
I have immense respect for Dion, and believe the treatment he received at the hands of his opponents is one of the most visual examples of why good people stay far away from politics. Think about it. The salary is good, but a fraction of what someone running a midsized business or bay street lawyer makes. The hours are long and you’re frequently away from your family. The environment is stressful and you’re constantly under personal attack and your words misrepresented as your opponent tries to tear you down. Those who are prepared to withstand the abuse for the higher purpose of public service should be revered not reviled.
Pundits and politicos will recall that Stephane Dion led us to our second worse showing since Confederation in both seat count and popular vote. They are not technically wrong, but I am not sold he carries the blame for a number of reasons that have more to do with the Liberal Party’s inability to be as effective in the current environment as previous ones. But without making excuses consider this. The last election where the Liberal Party gained seats was in 2000 when Chretien was up against a guy who believed that man walked hand in hand with dinosaurs, who showed up for press conferences in skin tight wet suits, who could not determine for certain (while standing on it’s bank) which way the Niagara River flowed (whether it was toward or from the United States) and had the issue of vote splitting on the right.
In 2000 the Liberal Party won 172 seats. A gain of 17 from a 155 seats in the 1997 election.
In 2004 the Liberal Party won 135 seats. A loss of 37 from 172 seats in the 2000 election.
In 2006 the Liberal Party won 103 seats. A loss of 32 seats from 135 seats in the 2004 election.
In 2008 the Liberal Party won 77 seats. A loss of 26 seats from 103 seats in the 2006 election.
As ass backwards as this argument is, Dion’s last election was a disaster, but no more a disaster than the two the Liberal Party faced under Paul Martin, another leader of the Liberal Party I supported until the end of his tenure. I would submit that problems of the Liberal Party go deeper than leadership and we’d better make damn sure before going into the next election that we’ve solved the systemic and organizational problems that are holding us back and stunting our ability to win.
7 Comments »National Executive to Expand Definition of ‘Brass’
Good work grassroots! You made them budge. Now caucus and the national executive will not be making the decision completely alone and without consideration of the other 70 000 Liberal party members. But don’t get too excited, only riding presidents, defeated candidates, and commission club presidents will join the process.
I happen to be a riding president, but I still don’t think this is acceptable. Better, but not good enough.
Here are some problems as I see them:
1) Candidates for the Liberal Party Leadership should not be candidates for the Interim Leadership – Michael Ignatieff was wrong to attempt a power grab and force this latest brawl.
2) The Party annouced in a press release that this process has been created and will include consulting the ‘Council of Presidents’ – the problem? I am a member of that Council – we meet tonight at 8pm and I have yet to receive any communication to this effect. Are we expected to decide tonight or some other time before December 17th?
3) There has been no debate! – Bob Rae called for one public debate a week back in November and a single debate has yet to be had. The closest thing to a debate was that botched attempt in Mississauga where Ignatieff would not allow the media in. It’s important to remember at that point riding presidents were still considered part o the ‘family’ to Michael. That was before you needed to be a Senator or MP to be considered ‘family’ by him. This leaves us in a position where we’re calling the leadership based on media speculation and whatever backbiting and inside baseball we’re privy too… Does anyone else see a problem with this?
The selection of the interim leader will have a significant impact on who becomes the real leader. No matter what we need to have a convention to allow the party to at least ‘make believe’ the decision, so why not just have the race and allow a non candidate to lead the party in the interim. Afterall, that is kind of the idea.
Finally – a note to Liberal members. Please contact your riding president and defeated candidate. Tell them that you believe in democracy and do not support this strange interim = coronation process. Ask them to support the candidate that respects your constitutional right to elect delegates to select the leader.
If you need help finding the contact information of your MP, defeated candidate or riding president; please email me your riding name and I will do my best to help. My email is john.laforet@laforet.ca
2 Comments »Liberal Party Brass Are in For a Fight
George Smitherman, the Deputy Premier of Ontario has sent an open letter to the Liberal Party of Canada requesting his right to vote. It reads:
“To those in the Federal Liberal Party who propose to select a new leader from among the national caucus, the smallest and least regionally reflective group in 20 years, I offer three cautions.
Please do not deprive our party of the membership input that only a leadership race can produce. Many, perhaps most, of our constituency organizations, including those of some caucus members, are running on fumes. Revitalization of the party is critical.
Please do not deprive our party of the role a leadership race plays in kicking the tires of prospective candidates. It’s crucial that candidates get the kind of scrutiny the position warrants.
Please do not misunderstand the wisdom that this decision requires. This is not simply a matter of rushing to fill our top and most important national position in late January. It is about the steps the Liberal Party of Canada is taking to ensure it is relevant in every nook and cranny in the country.
As an active Liberal member since 1980, I urge extreme caution in depriving the grassroots participation that is the much needed lifeblood of our party.
I want to cast my vote.
George Smitherman, Toronto”
Minister Smitherman is a deeply respected member of the Liberal Party and his point is well taken. I hope that his caution and defense of grassroots Liberals will carry some weight with Liberal Members of Parliament and the National Executive of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Beyond Minister Smitherman’s letter, the Council of Presidents has a conference call scheduled for tomorrow night and from all accounts it is going to be a spirited one. Just from the communications I’ve been privy to I expect the National Executive and Caucus will be in for a bruising the day before they try to take away the voices of grassroots Liberals. Riding Presidents are standing up for the members of their riding associations that have duly elected them to do so. I expect the vast majority of Riding Presidents will do the right thing and defend our membership against this bizarre move.
What Michael Ignatieff is proposing to do is yet another example of horrible political judgement on his part. It is unprecedented for a candidate for the leadership to seek the interim leadership. It has never been done in the Liberal Party, particularly because it creates such an unfair advantage. The party has called a convention and I believe he needs to respect that. The Deputy Premier of Ontario and thousands upon thousands of grassroots Liberals agree.
I hope tomorrow night, members of the Presidents Council will make it loud and clear to the National Executive that this is unacceptable. This cannot be allowed to happen. If Ignatieff truly believes in the principles of free and fair elections, he will not put the party through this unnecessary fight. He will not turn the grassroots on the caucus. He will do this, by doing the right thing and run the duration of the campaign with the ethical standard Canadians expect in their leaders.
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