Liberal leader Stephane Dion desperately tries to maintain some order in his caucus by demoting capable critics and allowing rumours of major reshuffles to spread, hurting his most capable potential heirs such as Michael Ignatieff. Meanwhile, the CTV also presents us with some damning poll data from Dion's home province and his own hometown, Quebec city, showing the Liberals rock bottom and the Tories trailing the withering Bloc. L. Ian McDonald commented:
A leader without a base is like a prophet without a homeland
It is in dark times such as these that a wise leader abandons ego and desires for control and embraces the age-old wisdom: the best way to stay in power is to surround yourself with people brighter than you. People who can galvanize support, inspire trust and cast an image of professionalism and ability to discharge great duties. Dion is attempting to do the exact opposite, removing popular aides in order to give more prominence to the likes of Bob Rae. Although that might make him a little more popular in Ontario this is not a successful strategy for the remaining provinces.
It is not a safe route either, as Rae is an ambitious politician who no doubt eyes up the Liberal leadership without necessarily coming across as a viable alternative to Stephen Harper. A Rae leadership, though more colourful than Dion's, would be easier to fire on judging by the man's record in Ontario.
It is time for Dion to realize the danger he is putting his party in, resheath the knives and let a capable team of charismatic true leaders overshadow his blatant inability to keep a party caucus in line.
4 comments:
Rae has been plotting for many years and is very close to taking control of the party. He arranged through his supporters to ensure there was no election until he got into the House, and now he is manipulating Dion so Ignatieff is marginalized. He is arranging for Ignatieff and supporters to take the fall for the bad press Dion is getting and will continue to gain support by using Dion to threaten those who do not support him such as Coderre. --- Harper is credited for playing a mean game of political chess - Dion and Ignatieff are playing checkers (barely); Rae has heen around long enough to have learned political chess and is playing it now within the party. For the sake of the country, I hope he looses because he will hurt Canada as badly as he trashed Ontario in the four years he was Premier.
I'm hoping that Dion strengthens his grip on the party. (real conservative)
I too would like to see a very uncharismatic Dion keep a solid grip on his party, the more prominent he is and the more he stands out from the crowd the more damage he does to the party.
However at some point one does wonder when is this going to get a little spicier. Dion-bashing can't be an efficient propaganda tool forever, and wiping the floor with the opposition for standing up and being vocal on the wrong side of policy is definitely more mentally stimulating :)
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