Earlier today, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced his decision to step down as soon as the Liberal Party chooses its new leader. In making his announcement, M. Dion made clear the importance that the Liberal Party enter the upcoming session of Parliament with a new leader who can hit the ground running, instead of a long, drawn-out farewell from now until the scheduled May convention in Vancouver.
Many viewed the poorly produced video address, and the confusion that surrounded it, as the last straw for the rest of the Liberal caucus, which swiftly moved to force Dion out the door. While M. Dion is a good man who has spent much of his life fighting for his country, he was sadly the wrong leader at the wrong time. Taking over the Party at a time when there was no money in the bank, his bookish demeanor and certain quotable sound bytes left him vulnerable to a Conservative onslaught. Having been portrayed as weak, Canadians weren't prepared to give him the reins of power, and held their noses and voted for Harper in the end. Unfortunately, M. Dion will leave his post as only the second elected Liberal Party Leader since Confederation not to become Prime Minister.
The coalition proposal is nothing more than a passing fancy. It provides a valuable tool to keep Stephen Harper in line, and stop him from engaging in a reckless agenda. However, with respect to long-term electoral strategy, it is a bad idea. The coalition forces the Liberal Party even further left, in a country where elections are won and lost in the political centre. The Conservative Party is continuing to tilt towards the right, and at this moment, there is no representation for those in the political centre. At the end of it, it seems that Michael Ignatieff is poised to assume the leadership, holding an overwhelming majority of caucus support. While some in the Party are concerned about Mr. Ignatieff, his political leanings are far more palatable than his only remaining opponent. Mr. Rae, for all his charisma and excellent ideas, is simply the wrong man, in my view. His dogged support for this coalition on a long-term basis threatens to force the Liberal Party to cede the political centre for decades to come. His legacy as Premier of Ontario is an added obstacle to electoral success in Canada's biggest province. Mr. Ignatieff will move the Liberal Party back towards the centre, which is where the Party needs to be if it is to have any chance of forming government again. Current polling, which reflects a double digit lead for Mr. Ignatieff over Mr. Rae further cements the fact that the political centre in Canada is far more prepared to vote for Mr. Ignatieff.
With all of this in mind, the Canadian Post is endorsing Mr. Ignatieff's bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
A Coward and a Bully
Yesterday morning, Stephen Harper visited the Governor General, and asked her to prorogue Parliament. He did it for no other reason than to prevent the House of Commons from exercising its right to voice its lack of confidence in Mr. Harper and his Government. Let me note off the top that from this point forward, I will not refer to Mr. Harper as the Prime Minister. The reason for this is simple: to be Prime Minister, one must uphold Canadian democracy and hold the confidence of the House of Commons. Mr. Harper can lay claim to neither of those, and as a result, I no longer recognize him as Prime Minister of Canada.
Since being elected in 2006, Mr. Harper has made a career of bullying the opposition with one nasty piece of legislation, daring them at each turn to vote him down. In each case, the opposition relented, and allowed Mr. Harper to pass controversial legislation for fear of forcing an election. This time, the opposition called his bluff, and decided to go for a vote. Mr. Harper, in his wisdom, writhed in agony, and instead of finally allowing Canada's democratically elected Parliament to vote, had the doors slammed shut instead.
I have great respect and affection for the Governor General. I believe that Her Excellency has brought a level of grace and charm to her office that elected officials can only dream of having. With that said, I must respectfully say that her decision to allow Mr. Harper to prorogue Parliament was the wrong one. Yes, it headed off a political mess, but a terrible precedent was set in allowing a Prime Minister to prorogue the House for no reason other than to avoid being fired. I do take solace, however, in the fact that the meeting lasted two and a half hours. These sorts of meeting generally don't last that long, and I can only hope that Her Excellency read Mr. Harper the riot act, expressed a measure of disgust at his tactics, and advised him that if he didn't clean up his act, and ended up falling in January, that she'd allow the coalition to take over.
This was borne out when one looks at Mr. Harper's statement after he emerged from Rideau Hall. I don't think I've ever seen him so chastened and conciliatory. I continue to believe that his statements and actions were not enough. It will take a change of astronomical proportions for Canadians to have much trust in him after this one.
Since being elected in 2006, Mr. Harper has made a career of bullying the opposition with one nasty piece of legislation, daring them at each turn to vote him down. In each case, the opposition relented, and allowed Mr. Harper to pass controversial legislation for fear of forcing an election. This time, the opposition called his bluff, and decided to go for a vote. Mr. Harper, in his wisdom, writhed in agony, and instead of finally allowing Canada's democratically elected Parliament to vote, had the doors slammed shut instead.
I have great respect and affection for the Governor General. I believe that Her Excellency has brought a level of grace and charm to her office that elected officials can only dream of having. With that said, I must respectfully say that her decision to allow Mr. Harper to prorogue Parliament was the wrong one. Yes, it headed off a political mess, but a terrible precedent was set in allowing a Prime Minister to prorogue the House for no reason other than to avoid being fired. I do take solace, however, in the fact that the meeting lasted two and a half hours. These sorts of meeting generally don't last that long, and I can only hope that Her Excellency read Mr. Harper the riot act, expressed a measure of disgust at his tactics, and advised him that if he didn't clean up his act, and ended up falling in January, that she'd allow the coalition to take over.
This was borne out when one looks at Mr. Harper's statement after he emerged from Rideau Hall. I don't think I've ever seen him so chastened and conciliatory. I continue to believe that his statements and actions were not enough. It will take a change of astronomical proportions for Canadians to have much trust in him after this one.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Too Little, Too Late
I just finished watching the Prime Minister's address tonight, and if anything is clear, it's that he hasn't learned his lesson. Not a moment of contrition, not a moment spent reaching out to the opposition. Not a moment spent acknowledging the fact that the Tories bear some measure of responsibility for this situation.
The address, which was supposed to be about 10 minutes long, was barely 5 minutes in length. In the midst of a massive crisis, the Prime Minister decided that the future of Canada was only worth 5 minutes of his time. This could have been an opportunity to cool things down, to reach out to other MP's, and calm things down. Instead, more attacks, however muted, and no solutions, nor any leadership.
This is simply insufficient for a man who says he can lead us through the current economic crisis. It's insufficient for a man who says that he has the judgment to lead. It's insufficient for a man whose job it is to reach out to others to pass an agenda.
The address, which was supposed to be about 10 minutes long, was barely 5 minutes in length. In the midst of a massive crisis, the Prime Minister decided that the future of Canada was only worth 5 minutes of his time. This could have been an opportunity to cool things down, to reach out to other MP's, and calm things down. Instead, more attacks, however muted, and no solutions, nor any leadership.
This is simply insufficient for a man who says he can lead us through the current economic crisis. It's insufficient for a man who says that he has the judgment to lead. It's insufficient for a man whose job it is to reach out to others to pass an agenda.
Some Advice for Mr. Harper
Tonight, Stephen Harper will address the nation in the midst of a political crisis of historic proportions. His instincts will tell him to go on the offensive, to attack the opposition, and to draw as much blood as possible, in the hopes that it will somehow stop his opponents. My simple advice to him: don't do it.
Mr. Harper is fighting for his political life, but there are two words he can say tonight that will save his skin, at least for the time being: I'm sorry. That's right. Mr. Harper needs to stand up and apologize to the Canadian people. He needs to apologize for ignoring the fact that they returned him to power with another minority mandate. He needs to apologize for his constant abuse of power, whereby he has used the machinery of government in a concerted campaign to destroy his opponents. He needs to apologize for using a global crisis to settle scores with unions, women, and the political left.
If Mr. Harper has the guts to stand before the Canadian people, and finally admit that his venomous partisanship was a terrible error in judgment on his part, if he apologizes for it, and promises never to wander down that road again, then he has a chance. If he stands up and finally recognizes that his party does not command a parliamentary majority, and if he commits to consulting with the opposition before introducing matters of confidence, then the Canadian people will be inclined to give him a second chance.
If Mr. Harper fails yet again, and if he decides, as he has always done, to use this opportunity to escalate this crisis instead of diffusing it, then the Governor General should refuse his expected request to prorogue Parliament, since it would be nothing other than a shameless effort to abuse his executive power to prevent the democratically elected House to render their judgment on whether or not he continues to enjoy their confidence.
Mr. Harper is fighting for his political life, but there are two words he can say tonight that will save his skin, at least for the time being: I'm sorry. That's right. Mr. Harper needs to stand up and apologize to the Canadian people. He needs to apologize for ignoring the fact that they returned him to power with another minority mandate. He needs to apologize for his constant abuse of power, whereby he has used the machinery of government in a concerted campaign to destroy his opponents. He needs to apologize for using a global crisis to settle scores with unions, women, and the political left.
If Mr. Harper has the guts to stand before the Canadian people, and finally admit that his venomous partisanship was a terrible error in judgment on his part, if he apologizes for it, and promises never to wander down that road again, then he has a chance. If he stands up and finally recognizes that his party does not command a parliamentary majority, and if he commits to consulting with the opposition before introducing matters of confidence, then the Canadian people will be inclined to give him a second chance.
If Mr. Harper fails yet again, and if he decides, as he has always done, to use this opportunity to escalate this crisis instead of diffusing it, then the Governor General should refuse his expected request to prorogue Parliament, since it would be nothing other than a shameless effort to abuse his executive power to prevent the democratically elected House to render their judgment on whether or not he continues to enjoy their confidence.
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