Posts Tagged ‘Michael Ignatieff’
Belinda Stronach Got It Right
I am going to start by saying I am a big fan of Belinda Stronach. I was absolutely thrilled when she crossed the floor in 2005 and saved Canada from a bizarre election no one needed but Mr. Harper wanted. She quickly got involved as a team player in helping to re-frame the internal workings of the Liberal Party and did great work as the Chair of the Women’s Caucus. During the party’s post defeat while many worked on the Red Ribbon Task Force on party renewal, Stronach began pushing the idea of one member, one vote. I have to admit, I did not agree with her then, but after watching what the Liberal Party has been through in the last number of weeks, I think it’s time we take another look.
In her article in the Globe and Mail today, Stronach was frank and honest with a number of the longer term issues facing the Liberal Party. We have diminished our ability to attract, engage and inspire Canadians to join our party, and donate their time and money to our cause. She calls for a mass democratization of the party to be a major part of it’s re-birth as a political entity. Active Liberals are far more likely to be potential donors. They are more likely to volunteer and do what they can to help us win elections.
Stronach calls on Liberals not to wait to begin this process. Acting now, with a fresh leader, and a hyper partisan opposition is probably the best possible time. I do hope Liberals will agree and get on with the process of throwing open the doors to the back room and letting some light into the internal processes.
These are the kinds of the things rank and file Liberals need to begin discussing among ourselves. The grassroots is hurting. I know because I’ve been speaking to my friends and colleagues about all that has happened in the last number of days. Even those who backed Michael Ignatieff recognize the way in which he was chosen presents a threat to the long term viability of our party’s grassroots appeal. Let’s get on in discussing these kinds of things, both privately and publicly. Let’s make this part of any process to broaden grassroots fundraising, outreach and all the other aspects of rebuilding the Liberal Party needs to undertake.
We have a real opportunity now to do some serious soul searching about the kind of party we want and how best to allow Canadians to get involved. I hope we recognize this opportunity and seize it.
Here is the link to her article: “Don’t sit back, Liberals – it’s time to democratize the party”
1 Comment »Gut Feeling: Harper’s Government Will Live, Coalition Will not
Harper is not somebody I am a fan of. I don’t believe he accepts the view that democracy is a fundamentally good thing. I believe he is far too vengeful and has too dark a personality to be Prime Minister, but the guy is quite the political engineer.
In publicly extending the olive branch to Michael Ignatieff and suggesting that he is open to hearing from ‘the other big party’ on the budget, he further complicates Ignatieff’s decision. Say yes to the meeting – you don’t have to worry about ridiulous attack ads right away, giving you time to play nice and brand yourself. The cost of course is trying to present the Liberals as an alternative to the Conservatives, while proping them up. If Harper is smart, he would take whatever advice Ignatieff gives, to ensure passage of his budget and a death to the coalition idea. That would not only protect Harper, but also put him in a position where he can slap around the Liberals on future confidence votes. It would also drive a big wedge between the NDP, Bloc and Liberals, changing the dynamic of the next election as the NDP and Bloc would then be able to make it clear that they are the only ones who will stand up to Harper. Thats our vote they wll eat.
If Ignatieff says no to the meeting, the attack ads begin, he takes a brusing from the CPC and we go ahead and vote down the Government. We either end up in an election we have no money for, or a coalition government that at least now is unpopular with Canadians. The single largest positive in my mind is that an agreement to govern tgether could and should result in an agreement to minimize friendly fire, both at the riding level and national level.
It would get the NDP off our backs where we split the vote and a Conservative wins, and us off theirs as well. Whether Canadians would go for it is another question all together. Sadly, we probably will never know.
The scary thing in all of this is that Ignatieff if he meets with Harper (which I think he must) and presents viable suggestions for the budget (which he should) Harper looks like the bigger man. He suddenly looks responsible, has someone to blame for his deficit, assurances it will pass and he will live t fight another day. The Liberal party however will have waffled in the eyes of Canadians, will look indecisive and by backing away from a coalition will be inviting a war on four fronts in the next election, instead of a war on one front.
There are drawbacks to whatever Ignatieff does. But making tough decisions is what Leadership is all about and he is soon to find that out in a very practical way. I don’t envy him at this moment, especially because he appears most comfortable leaning in a direction that will allow Harper to govern, and that will be a very tough corner to come back from later.
Some would suggest the drama is over, I’m of the opinion it is just getting started, now that Harper has an opponent and the coalition is beginning to fall apart.
4 Comments »What a Day for the Liberal Party of Canada
So Bob Rae drops out of the race, making Michael Ignatieff the first Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada to not have to face even a token opponent on the floor of a convention, or even in caucus. This is a first, and frankly not a good first. I’ve been measured and tempered in my responses today when speaking to people.
I’d call on the Ignatieff campaign to prove that he was the best choice for the leadership to those of us who were not convinced and not to cast us away. That is something only he can do. Unity of our party is at stake here. That was clear in listening to Riding Presidents from across the country tonight during our Council of the Presidents meeting.
The party still plans to consult on who the interim leader will be and in the case of Riding Presidents, we will have until tomorrow at 1pm to send our suggestion to the party office. Anyone want to place a bet on the winner? Caucus will then decide who they think should be the leader on an interim basis tomorrow afternoon as well. Any guesses as to how that will go? Then by December 17th it will all be over and the Convention in May 2009 will be an acclamation.
At this point, it basically has to be. Not because it would be wrong for people to think there is possibly a better choice for the moment, but given the choice between Michael Ignatieff and “somebody else” it would be irresponsible for the party to vote for “somebody else” and would simply incite a further round of internal brawling. We cannot afford that. But those who did not support Michael cannot simply “unite” because they are told to. They need to be reached out to. Just like one million Liberal voters who stayed home in the last election will need to be for us to win back the government. If we cannot do it internally, I fear our attempts to do it externally will fail as well.
As a Riding President, I have felt the cold shoulder of not backing Mr. Ignatieff and can safely say that I am one who will need to be reached out too if they are serious about unity. I was the only ex-officio in Scarborough’s six ridings not to support Mr. Ignatieff’s candidacy. It was made clear to me that this would be a problem for me and my ability to perform my duties as President would be affected as a result of my support for another candidate. I hope in victory the Ignatieff campaign will realize following through on threats like this are a bad idea, and will do everything possible to let cooler heads prevail.
I am, as always, a phone call or email away.
Further to this, the Council of Presidents met tonight and it was clear that there is a broader sense that healing is necessary. There is clearly some division within the party, but general agreement it is important for us to all work together and present a united front.
I will commit to doing my part to unite the party, so long as the powers that be make it possible for me to do so.
Over the coming days, it will be interesting to see what attempts are made by Michael Ignatieff to sell himself to the party, to heal the grassroots, to re-engage the supporters of his former opponents, and to convince Canadians he is the best choice to be Prime Minister. I will be watching closely as many of you will be as well.
My final thoughts tonight rest with the fate of the coalition government. A coalition is necessary, it will remain to be necessary and I hope we as Liberals will continue to work with the NDP and Bloc and rise above partisanship to govern in the best interests of Canadians and see us through this current economic crisis. 62% of Canadians voted for progressive parties. We secured just 26% of those votes. Working with the left will give us the opportunity to make gains into that share of the vote and return us to government. I just don’t believe we can shake much of Harper’s 38% of the vote, and certainly not enough to lead us into majority territory.
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